LANL Announcement Shocks the State
Los Alamos National Laboratory announced Tuesday they are in the process of laying off between 400 and 800 employees, which is about 10% of their work force. The RIF, lab officials said, is necessary because of a $300 million budget cut.
Many of the layoffs will be the result of employees taking early retirement, called “voluntary separation, or buyouts.”
“When combined with a suppressed attrition rate for the past three years, our current budget and future outlook require significant cost-cutting,” lab director Charlie McMillan said. The plan must be approved by the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees the nation’s nuclear facilities.
The Obama administration released information last week that it planned to table a $6 billion plutonium research lab at Los Alamos. This announcement derailed construction that was projected to begin this year on the Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement Nuclear Facility.
Views regarding the layoffs were mixed, depending on a person or groups political philosophy.
Senator Udall said, “LANL is critical to our national security and state’s economy and I will continue to push for adequate funding at both of New Mexico’s national lab”
On the other side of the fence, anti-nuke groups viewed the layoffs in a more positive vein, citing the cancerous growth of the nuclear weapons programs over the past two decades
The layoff will have a huge economic impact on Los Alamos and Northern New Mexico. As a good percentage of the people laid off live in the area.
