Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security formally took over management of the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Y-12 and Pantex production plants yesterday, and while the workforce at both sites was trimmed during the transition period to the new contractor, CNS President Jim Haynes said there could be additional cuts to the workforce. In an interview with NS&D Monitor, Haynes said he was hoping to avoid any voluntary or involuntary layoffs. “We’ve made a very positive step toward right-sizing the workforce and now we need to get in and just ensure we can safely and securely operate the sites,” Haynes said, adding: “In some areas there will be further cuts. In some areas there is going to be recruiting under way. It really comes down to do you have the right mix of critical skills to safely and securely operate the sites.”
The workforce at the plants currently stands at about 7,800, which Haynes said would be a starting point for the new contractor. Haynes said he expected normal attrition and retirements to trim the workforce as needed. “There will be some further changes, further reductions, over time,” he said. “… Hopefully we won’t have to go to another voluntary or involuntary separation program but it will be a dynamic workforce for a while I’ll say.”
He said CNS is currently focusing on meeting the cost savings targets it proposed. He said the number of cost savings proposals approved by the NNSA was expanded from 62 to about 80 during transition, but as some were added others were abandoned, and the contractor is holding to the $3.27 billion cost savings estimate contained in its proposal, Haynes said. About $3 billion of that is cost savings at Y-12 and Pantex, and the remainder is cost savings projected if an option to fold Savannah River tritium operations into the contract is exercised. Haynes highlighted areas like IT, finance, human resources and program management as areas ripe for cost savings and consolidation. “As we’ve learned more about the sites and where the opportunities are, frankly just some of the initial cost reduction initiatives are not as valid anymore with the passage of time from the time we put the proposal in to the time we are starting today, it’s a long period of time that has allowed some things to change,” Haynes said. “The good news is for NNSA and us as CNS and for the taxpayer we still have a high degree of confidence we can achieve the level of savings we promised in the contract.”