May 29, 2014

VOLUNTARY LAYOFF PROGRAMS SET FOR Y-12, PANTEX

By ExchangeMonitor

The National Nuclear Security Administration has directed the contractors that run Y-12 and Pantex to organize a voluntary layoff program to reduce the size of the workforce at each site as part of a staffing plan outlined by new Y-12/Pantex contractor Consolidated Nuclear Security. Details of the voluntary separation program (VSP) have not been released, but outgoing B&W Y-12 General Manager Dave Richardson said in a message to employees yesterday that the layoff program will be “targeted to specific job classifications and roles identified by CNS. Only employees in these specific classifications/roles will be eligible to apply for the VSP.” In a separate message to Pantex employees, B&W Pantex General Manager John Woolery said there would be a “very limited VSP targeted to specific job classifications and roles defined by CNS.” Those targets and the timeline of the program remain unclear, but CNS spokesman Jason Bohne said CNS President Jim Haynes told Y-12 employees at an all-hands meeting that the company has proposed staffing reductions through voluntary layoffs of less than 5 percent.

In his message to employees, Richardson said a VSP plan will be submitted by B&W Y-12 and B&W Pantex later this week. “Once this plan is approved by NNSA, we’ll communicate more details to you; specifically, each person eligible to participate in the VSP will be notified,” he said, adding: “Once we get full approval for our VSP plan, I’ll be completely transparent with the information needed. Right now, we simply don’t have much more in the way of specifics to share with you as we are still in the process of receiving input from CNS and drafting our VSP plan. Until we do, I ask for your patience. I realize the uncertainty of a transition may be a stressful period; and the details of a VSP plan are of high interest to many of you. I promise I will give you all the information you need to make decisions as soon as I can.” In a statement, NNSA Production Office spokesman Steven Wyatt also said he did not have any details to disclose. “Once CNS and B&W conclude their planning, details will be provided to employees,” he said. “Our first priority is to cause as little disruption to the workforce as possible, and we hope that the VSP will succeed in that.”

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