399 TO LEAVE LIVERMORE WITH BUYOUTS TODAY

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory spokeswoman Lynda Seaver confirmed yesterday that 399 employees will leave the lab after taking a buyout designed to address Fiscal Year 2014 budget shortfalls. The lab said last month it could accommodate buyouts for up to 600 employees, and though the lab didn’t reach that target, it is not expected to need additional buyouts to address FY 2014 budget cuts. The buyouts were available to all career employees at the lab, with one week of severance pay per year of continuous service up to 26 years offered as an incentive to get employees to take the offer. Lab officials had previously noted that the Obama Administration’s $1.48 billion FY 2014 budget request for the lab is less than the $1.6 billion FY 2013 request, which was reduced to about $1.5 billion by sequestration cuts. “It is our hope that implementing the SSVSP [Self-Select Voluntary Separation Program] now, rather than waiting for additional details on the FY14 budget, will put the Laboratory in a better posture to address whatever budget realities we’ll face in FY14 and beyond,” laboratory Director Parney Albright said last month.