Staff Reports
NS&D Monitor
4/25/2014
When the actual job reduction targets for voluntary layoff programs at the Y-12 and Pantex nuclear weapons plants were revealed late this week, the proposed numbers weren’t as high as some expected. B&W Y-12 said it planned to eliminate about 140 positions at the Oak Ridge plant, with about 1,100 employees notified that they’ll be eligible to apply for the Voluntary Separation Program and potentially receive an enhanced severance package. A total of 4,300 people currently work for B&W Y-12, the outgoing contractor at Y-12.
B&W Pantex said the goal at the Amarillo plant is to eliminate 30 jobs, and the contractor has identified 162 employees who are eligible to apply for the voluntary departure program. B&W Pantex currently has about 3,100 employees on its payroll. While the job reductions will be carried by the B&W-led contractors at the two plants, the plans are based on the staffing requirements that Bechtel-led Consolidated Nuclear Security—the incoming contractor that will have the combined management of Y-12 and Pantex—submitted to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Employees Have Until May 12 to Apply
CNS President and CEO Jim Haynes recently said there is an abundance of employees at Y-12 eligible for retirement, and he said it’s expected there will be more applications for the voluntary departure program than positions available. However, it’s also likely that many workers eligible for retirement—and possibly looking to leave—may not be part of the group targeted for the Voluntary Separation Program. Applications will be accepted up until noon on May 12. Employees will be notified on May 16 whether or not they’ve been approved for the program. All employees participating in the program must be off the payroll by June 30.
The severance packages are based on a formula that provides an employee a percentage of their regular pay that’s also tied to their time of service at the Oak Ridge plant. A similar program was offered at Pantex. CNS is to take full responsibility for the plants July 1. The job cuts between now and June 30 are part of the new contractor’s overall plan to right-size the workforce and make operations more efficient.
Layoff Program ‘Very Targeted’
The new contractor has promised to save the government more than $3 billion over the next 10 years. Dave Richardson, B&W Y-12’s general manager, said the Voluntary Separation Program is “very targeted,” and “as such will be limited to specific organizations and then to job classifications/roles within those organizations.” Richardson said the VSP will not be available to supervisors or management, but only to “individual contributors.” It also won’t be available to those dubbed in critical skills positions. “If more VSP applications are received than can be accepted, we’ll use seniority or company service to determine whose application is accepted, with the more senior or longer service employees having preference,” Richardson said in his message to Y-12 employees.