BATH (AP) – Bath Iron Works is laying off 73 workers by month’s end in the latest round of job cuts at the shipyard.

Management served notice of the cuts to Local S6 of the Machinists Union, which circulated the news to shop stewards in the affected job classifications.

The layoffs are painful but necessary in order to secure a healthy future for the Bath yard, said BIW spokesman Jim Demartini.

“This is a constant process we’re going through to balance the work force with the work load requirements,” he said. “We hate to lose members of our skilled work force.”

The layoffs are part of a gradual downsizing at Bath Iron Works, one of Maine’s largest employers. The yard is banking on a new program to build the Navy’s next-generation destroyer.

The news has not been all bad at Bath. The company last month won an important design contract, which restored jobs for laid-off designers and created at least 75 new jobs, said Jim McCourt of the Bath Marine Draftsmen Association.