Oak Ridge Today

Sequester scenarios: DOE contractors in Tennessee could furlough 1,400, lose $90 million

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Daniel B. Poneman

Daniel B. Poneman

The federal funding cuts that went into effect March 1 could result in 1,400 furloughs or layoffs for U.S. Department of Energy contractors in Tennessee, an official said this week. The furloughs could start as early as April 1.

There could also be spending reductions of about $90 million for DOE contractors in the Volunteer State, DOE Deputy Secretary Daniel B. Poneman said in a March 5 letter to Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam.

Funding for contractors at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge could be cut by roughly $41 million, and more than 1,000 contractor employees could be furloughed, Poneman said.

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Worker hours could be cut at Y-12 in response to sequestration

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Chuck Spencer

Chuck Spencer

Note: This story was updated at 8:05 p.m.

The work week at the Y-12 National Security Complex could occasionally be reduced to 30 hours for many employees between April and October as part of a budget-cutting plan announced Thursday.

Under the proposal, nonessential personnel could work three 10-hour days rather than four 10-hour days every third week. The plan has been proposed in response to the automatic federal spending cuts scheduled to start taking effect at midnight.

B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer said the cuts would require furloughs, or temporary layoffs, for most employees.

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Sequester scenarios: $100 million in funding cuts at ORNL, furloughs at Y-12

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Chuck Spencer

Chuck Spencer

Operating costs have already been cut by 7 percent at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and all employees are expected to report to work on Friday, even if automatic federal spending cuts go into effect at midnight.

The federal cuts could reduce lab funding by 5 percent to 8 percent, ORNL Director Thom Mason said. That could translate into $70 million to $100 million in funding cuts, depending upon how the reductions are allocated.

Meanwhile, at the Y-12 National Security Complex, the automatic spending cuts could lead to furloughs, or temporary layoffs. Democrats on the U.S. House Appropriations Committee have said between 700 and 1,000 employees could be furloughed for up to six months.

But in a Feb. 14 message to employees, B&W Y-12 General Manager Chuck Spencer did not say how many employees might be affected.

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Sequestration could lead to $23 million in budget cuts at TVA

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The automatic federal spending cuts set to start taking effect Friday could result in $23 million in budget cuts at the Tennessee Valley Authority, a spokesman said Wednesday.

But the federal spending cuts—also referred to as sequestration—would probably not lead to temporary layoffs at the public utility, TVA spokesman Duncan Mansfield said. The federal cuts would trim $85 billion from defense and domestic spending for the rest of the fiscal year.

“We anticipate that we would not have to do furloughs, and we would be able to manage that through head count attrition,” Mansfield said. “At this point, we are not seeing an immediate impact.”

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Spending cuts could lead to Y-12 furloughs, ORNL reactor shutdown

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Y-12 National Security Complex

Y-12 National Security Complex (Submitted photo)

A report released Wednesday said the automatic federal spending cuts set for March 1 would require furloughs at the Y-12 National Security Complex and a shutdown of the High Flux Isotope Reactor at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The report was issued by Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee.

It said Y-12 would have to furlough 700-1,000 of its 4,500 employees for up to six months, and there would be hundreds of layoffs at national laboratories, universities, research facilities, and private sector companies that rely on grant funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science for energy research, the report said.

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