Fermilab Needs To Trim Workforce Again

Fermilab this week announced another attempt to scale down its workforce.

Lab employees on Thursday were once again offered buyouts in the hopes of keeping down costs. At least 100 people need to step forward for the voluntary program to balance available funding, said Pier Oddone, the lab's director.

The departure of 100 employees would represent a five percent cut of its roughly 2,000-member staff. This number does not include the 2,000 to 2,900 visiting scientists who are at the laboratory at different times during the year.

Employees who choose a buyout will learn if they've been approved for the program on July 21 or July 22, according to the Fermilab website.

"We will move as many employees as possible to jobs on new experiments and projects, many of which are already well underway and in need of extra help," Oddone said in an online message released Thursday. "There will still, however, be a mismatch between our current workforce and what is needed for the future program."

Oddone did not specify dollar amounts for the budgets, but said that funds will continue to be tight as the federal government faces large budget deficits.

The lab has made large spending cuts on materials and supplies, but the lab needs to lower personnel numbers to pay for salaries, wages and benefits. The lab is using the voluntary buyout program to avoid involuntary layoffs. The message does not specify how staffing would change if they do not get 100 buyouts.

The target of 100 buyouts is 300 workers less than the amount of people they might have laid off in a different scenario.  from earlier this year would have led to:

• layoffs of about 400 people
• a quicker shutdown of all particle accelerators, including the Tevatron
• suspension of many ongoing experiments
• two-month furloughs for all staff

The Tevatron is still scheduled to close at the end of September. Some of those who work under the Tevatron will be among the group of people who will be transferred to work on the lab's other projects. These include the .

The buyouts are one in a series of changes over the past year for the Batavia-based government laboratory. Last November,  to reduce staff size in an attempt to shrink a budget shortfall. In January, the lab confirmed that the in the fall.

To read Oddone's full message from Thursday, click here.

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