Thousands of Newport News Shipbuilding employees gathered Tuesday afternoon inside a submarine construction facility to hear what President Barack Obama had to say about how sequestration measures, if implemented, will impact them.

The president’s overarching message Tuesday was for the workers and residents across Virginia to contact their local leaders in Congress and urge both parties to consider a more common-sense approach to managing the deficit.

If Congress doesn’t reach a deal by Friday, a series of immediate and potentially devastating cuts may be made to the nation’s defense, which would ultimately impact thousands of other businesses across the state, Obama warned.

The president complimented the shipyard workers on the amazing work they do that is an integral part of the nation’s defense before saying, "That work, and hundreds of thousands of jobs, may be in jeopardy because of politics in Washington."