Los Alamos looks to cut its workforce

Citing a plunging budget, Los Alamos National Laboratory has announced plans for the voluntary layoff of 400–800 of its 11 127 employees this spring. Lab director Charlie McMillan told employees on 21 February that LANL’s budget fell from $2.55 billion in fiscal year 2011 to $2.2 billion in FY 2012, a drop of 16%. He warned them that future budgets will be flat or declining.

McMillan also noted that natural attrition rates have declined in recent years for a variety of reasons. ‘Our current budget and future outlook require significant cost cutting,’ McMillan said. ‘The plan we’re submitting will position the lab to continue executing our missions today and in the future.’

The voluntary separation plan must be approved by the National Nuclear Security Administration, the Department of Energy unit that oversees the lab. McMillan said that certain job functions can’t be cut and that some individuals won’t be eligible to take part in the plan because their skills are indispensable.

A LANL spokesman said that only the lab’s 7585 full-time regular employees are eligible for the program; contractors, term employees, students, postdocs, and union members are excluded. The lab’s student program will be capped at its current number of 1116. Pointing to a successful voluntary separation that occurred in 2008, McMillan said he is hopeful that the proposed plan will avoid the need for involuntary layoffs.