Los Alamos National Laboratory has taken the first steps toward cutting 400 to 800 jobs from its work force as it grapples with a budget this year that is down $300 million, lab director Charlie McMillan told employees at an all-hands meeting Tuesday afternoon. The decision comes on the heels of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s decision last week to defer construction of the multi-billion-dollar Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement-Nuclear Facility planned for Los Alamos. The first step involved a formal proposal to the NNSA requesting the establishment of a voluntary separation program. “We are taking these actions now in an attempt to reduce the risks of involuntary layoffs,” McMillan said in a statement e-mailed to reporters describing the meeting.
Officials would not talk about what sort of incentives might be offered, saying details would be made public pending NNSA approval of the plan. The lab last reduced its workforce in 2008, offering buyouts to workers and avoiding forced layoffs. “We’ve been working closely with LANL management to interpret and adjust to the multi-year budget outlook,” said NNSA Los Alamos site manager Kevin Smith. “The voluntary incentive proposed by LANL is one of several proactive measures targeted toward preserving critically important programs as well as research and innovation, while fiscally positioning the lab for the future.”