Livermore lab offers buyouts to up to 750 staffers

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Feb 4, 2008 | by Betsy Mason

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced Monday it will offer voluntary separation packages to as many as 750 employees, including 326 scientists and engineers.

The buyouts will come from the core, permanent workforce and will be given on a first-come, first- served basis.

``We think this is the next step to retool the workforce to reflect the budget changes that are happening at the federal level,'' said lab spokeswoman Susan Houghton.

The Department of Energy's budget request for 2009, announced Monday, is up $1 billion to $25 billion, but Livermore's slice of the pie is shrinking by $62 million to $1.1 billion. It is down from nearly $1.3 billion in 2007. The bulk of the cuts will come from nuclear weapons work.

It is unclear if involuntary layoffs will be needed even if 750 employees take the packages. ``We have to decide what happens after that,'' Houghton said. ``We don't know if we'll need an involuntary separation. I can't rule it out.''

About 500 temporary and supplemental workers had already left in a round of layoffs in January, slimming the total workforce to 7,300.

Lab director George Miller told employees at an all-hands meeting in January that as the next step he had requested a voluntary separation program. The National Nuclear Security Administration approved the plan on Friday.

The packages include a week of severance pay for every year of employment at the lab up to 26 weeks, a full year of medical benefits, and 50 percent of continuing insurance premiums for the second year.

Employees can apply online for the separation program for a two- week period beginning Feb. 12. They will be notified if their application was accepted or not on March 6, and those who are will leave the lab on March 14.

Workers who have been at the lab less than a year are not eligible, and those with skills the lab sees as critical will also be excluded.

Workers at the National Ignition Facility are not eligible, despite a budget that will be $20 million smaller in 2009 as the facility nears completion. ``It's critically important that NIF stays on track,'' Houghton said.

There are also caps on how many workers in different categories can take the packages.

The lab will accept applications from 326 scientists and engineers, 145 technicians, 101 professional administrative workers such as human resources and public information employees, 79 general administrative workers, 68 supervisors and executives, 22 laborers and 9 operators. Each group or department within the lab has a cap on how many employees of each type get the buyout.

In all, 60 percent of the permanent workforce is eligible to apply for the separation package. ``The outcome at this point depends entirely on how many people take it,'' said Jim Wolford, a computer scientist and member of the Society of Professionals, Scientist and Engineers labor union. Last month, Los Alamos National Laboratory announced 430 of its more than 10,000 employees had signed up for a voluntary separation package that had a more generous severance allowance than Livermore's program.

Los Alamos workers received one week per year of employment for the first 6 years, and two weeks for every additional year up to a total of 39 weeks.

Another 140 jobs were lost at Los Alamos through attrition, and last month the lab's director said that further layoffs would not be necessary.

Betsy Mason covers science and the national laboratories. Reach her at 925-952-5026 or bmason@bayareanewsgroup.com.