DOE Funding to Determine LATA Layoffs

LATA Kentucky will wait 30 days on layoffs that were supposed to kick in June 3, according to Mark Duff, LATA Kentucky Project Manager.
 
Congress has approved a “reprogramming request” from the Department of Energy that could reallocate funds within DOE’s budget and possibly bring additional federal money to the cleanup effort at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site. That's according to Tim Echelard, a contractor spokesman for DOE, who spoke to the Paducah Sun.
 
Duff issued a statement, saying, “We have not received official word from DOE as to the status of reprogramming and how it may affect LATA Kentucky. However, based on congressional approval of the reprogramming request, we have suspended the current layoff planned for June 3, 2013, for 30 days pending formal notification from DOE. We remain optimistic of receiving enough funding to continue our planned work for the rest of FY 13, which would result in delaying layoffs into FY 14.
 
LATA, or Los Alamos Technical Associates, is a DOE subcontractor that sent layoff notices to 260 of its 320 employees earlier this month.
 
LATA’s federal budget request through the DOE had not been approved when the company sent the WARN notices.
   
Echelard said he could not say when the DOE will notify LATA Kentucky of any funding changes, but they will likely know something within 30 days.
 
The DOE owns the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant 15 miles west of Paducah and subcontracts with LATA Kentucky for various cleanup projects. Three companies, Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group, SM Stoller Corporation and LATA Environmental Services of Kentucky comprise LATA Kentucky.
 
Workers for all three companies are subject to possible layoffs.