North Wind Services unseated Akima Infrastructure Services as the manager of a specialized workforce subcontracted to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the prime contractor for the Department of Energy facility said Monday.
In a press release, Lawrence Livermore National Security said the new contract with North Wind, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, has five-years of firm funding and five one-year options. Akima had been on the job since 2010. The lab did not disclose the financial terms of either contract.
Under the supplemental labor contract, North Wind will recruit people who can plug holes in the Livermore workforce, or shore up programs that need extra support in peak years.
Akima’s deal had a five year base and a five-year option, so the contract could wind up back on the street quicker, next time around. According to Akima’s description of the work, “[s]ervices include managing and recruiting supplemental labor … many of which are highly technical and require individuals with advanced degrees and significant research and development experience.”
Akima, of Albuquerque, N.M., said most of the positions it fills “are of a scientific or administrative nature,” but that the contract “also supports LLNL’s initiative of employing developmentally disabled individuals.”
The transition to North Wind started Monday and will wrap up in 90 days, on Aug. 30, according to the Livermore release. Employees working on the contract now will receive termination notices from Akima, followed by offers from North Wind some time between 45 and 90 days later.
There are about 520 people on Livermore’s supplemental workforce now, according to the lab’s presser about the contract change.
