Oak Ridge Today

ORNL approves 204 for voluntary separations as lab reduces workforce

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Photo by ORNL

 

Lab managers have approved 204 of the 302 applications submitted for a voluntary separation program that could reduce the workforce at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by up to 350 positions.

The Self-Select Voluntary Separation Program was announced by ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia in an August 8 email to employees. ORNL employees were able to apply for the program from Monday, August 14, to Wednesday, September 27. Applicants were notified October 25 whether their application was approved, according to information provided on Friday by Morgan McCorkle, ORNL media relations manager.

Accepted applicants will leave the payroll by December 31.

Applications were approved from staff who charge to indirect accounts, along with some research staff affected by fiscal year 2017 funding who could not be placed elsewhere in the lab. [Read more…]

ORNL reports strong interest in voluntary separations, but still needs to review applications

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Sign

Photo by Oak Ridge National Laboratory

 

There has been strong interest in a voluntary separation program that could reduce the workforce at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by up to 350 positions, but the lab still has to review applications and finalize who qualifies, a spokesperson said Wednesday, the deadline to apply.

The laboratory is still in the middle of reviewing the applications and determining who qualifies, said Morgan McCorkle, ORNL communications media manager.

The workforce could be reduced by up to 350 positions through both voluntary and involuntary separations.

“We still expect to use both mechanisms,” McCorkle said.

The 350-position reduction would decrease the workforce of 4,800 employees by about 7.3 percent. The workforce reduction, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, was announced by ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia in an August 8 email to employees. [Read more…]

ORNL workforce reduction could save $34 million per year, mostly affect those of retirement age

Posted at
By 3 Comments

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo by ORNL)

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pictured above. (Photo by ORNL)

 

The workforce reduction of up to 350 positions at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is expected to decrease personnel costs by about $34 million each year, and the lab expects most of those who apply for voluntary separations from the lab to be of retirement age, a spokesperson said Wednesday.

The workforce reduction, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year, was announced by new ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia in a Tuesday morning email to employees.

“From time to time, sustaining our work effectively and efficiently requires the most difficult of decisions, which is to reduce our staff in certain areas of the lab,” Zacharia said in that email.

The lab hopes to reduce its workforce of 4,800 employees by about 7.3 percent (350 positions) using voluntary separations. Involuntary separations will be used if necessary.

On Wednesday, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said the lab plans to reduce about 250 overhead positions and 100 research and development jobs. Overhead jobs are those not directly related to research. The research and development staff who will be eligible for voluntary separations are those who charge more than half of their time to overhead accounts or whose program budgets were reduced in fiscal year 2017, McCorkle said.

A specific breakdown of the affected jobs is not yet available. [Read more…]

ORNL to reduce workforce by up to 350 by end of year

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Thomas Zacharia

Thomas Zacharia

Note: This story was last updated at 10:50 a.m. Aug. 9.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will reduce its workforce by up to 350 positions by the end of the calendar year, ORNL Director Thomas Zacharia said in a Tuesday morning email to employees.

The workforce restructuring plan has been proposed by UT-Battelle and approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, Zacharia said. ORNL is DOE’s largest multiprogram science and energy laboratory.

“From time to time, sustaining our work effectively and efficiently requires the most difficult of decisions, which is to reduce our staff in certain areas of the lab,” Zacharia said. “To allow us to provide for our research missions and to allocate resources most productively, the Department of Energy has approved a Workforce Restructuring Plan proposed by UT-Battelle that will reduce ORNL’s workforce by up to 350 positions by the end of the calendar year.”

Zacharia said the reductions will be made primarily among staff who charge to “indirect accounts,” along with some research staff affected by fiscal year 2017 funding who could not be placed elsewhere in the lab.

“By reducing these positions, ORNL will be able to maintain competitive chargeout rates while freeing resources for discretionary investments that will modernize lab infrastructure and maintain core research capabilities in the mission areas assigned to ORNL,” Zacharia said. [Read more…]

Y-12, Pantex workforce reductions could total about 170 jobs

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

Workforce reductions at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, are expected to total about 170 jobs, officials said this week.

That’s about 2 percent of the roughly 7,900 workers at the two nuclear weapons plants.

The workforce reductions are expected to come through a voluntary separation program, or VSP.

The majority of the reductions, or 140 positions, would be at Y-12. The other 30 would be at Pantex.

The VSPs are being considered as a new federal contractor, Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, prepares to take over at Y-12 and Pantex on July 1. CNS, which was first announced as the new consolidated contractor in January 2013, has promised to save the federal government more than $3 billion during the next decade. [Read more…]

Staff size at Y-12, Pantex could be reduced through voluntary separations

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Y-12 National Security Complex Aerial View

The Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

The staff size at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge and Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas, could be reduced as a new federal contractor takes over. Officials expect the staff reductions to be less than 5 percent, and they say that most, if not all, of the staff reductions could come through voluntary separation programs.

The voluntary separation programs, or VSPs, were announced on April 15 by B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Dave Richardson and B&W Pantex President and General Manager John Woolery.

In his message to Y-12 workers, Richardson said the National Nuclear Security Administration had directed the plants to conduct the VSPs as part of the implementation of the staffing plan for Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC, the new contractor at the two nuclear weapons plants in Tennessee and Texas.

The Y-12 VSP will be targeted to specific job classifications and roles identified by CNS, Richardson said. Only employees in those specific classifications and roles will be eligible to apply for the VSP.

“Currently, B&W Y-12 is in the process of putting together a VSP plan that is in alignment with CNS’ staffing desires,” Richardson said last week. “We will submit our VSP plan 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.” [Read more…]

ORNL to lose 189 workers through voluntary separations by Dec. 31

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Dept. of Energy)

One hundred eighty-nine employees at Oak Ridge National Laboratory will go off the payroll at the end of this month as part of a workforce reduction announced in September.

ORNL had received permission to reduce its staff by up to 475 employees, but in September, officials said they hoped they wouldn’t have to make that many cuts.

The voluntary separation program, or VSP, was part of the lab’s response to federal budget pressures. ORNL has also implemented other belt-tightening measures during the past few years. [Read more…]

Budget cuts cause concern in research community, including at ORNL

Posted at
By 11 Comments

Thom Mason

Thom Mason

The budget deal that Congress approved earlier this month to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling kept in place automatic budget cuts known as sequestration.

But those across-the-board cuts are causing concern in the scientific community, including at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In August, ORNL Director Thom Mason said the lab had been, up to that point, mostly immune from the cuts because of steps that UT-Battelle, the managing and operating contractor, had already taken to cut costs, including through workforce restructuring, reduced staff and overhead budgets, and benefit changes.

“We’ve just been doing everything we can to prepare for lean budgets,” Mason said. [Read more…]

ORNL could trim staff by up to 475, but officials hope for fewer cuts

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Central Campus

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s central campus is pictured above. (Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory/U.S. Department of Energy)

With the federal budget under pressure, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has permission to reduce its staff by up to 475 employees, but officials hope they don’t have to make that many cuts.

The workforce reduction could come through what is known as a voluntary separation program, or VSP. Those who apply and are accepted would leave the payroll Dec. 31, ORNL Communications Director David Keim said Thursday.

Keim said the lab had to ask the U.S. Department of Energy for permission to make the cuts, and ORNL sought the highest number of possible reductions. [Read more…]