INL Layoffs Fewer Than Expected

Some Idaho National Laboratory employees impacted by the latest round of cuts are marking their last week with the lab.

But the number of involuntary layoffs is smaller than initially expected.

The INL is laying off 19 employees, a figure that could have been much higher had dozens not volunteered to go.

There will be 75 fewer familiar faces within the walls of the INL come Monday. It’s the result of difficult decisions due to budget cuts.

“While numbers were smaller than what some people thought they’d be in this particular round, it’s not a positive day,” said Mark Holubar, the INL’s director of human resources.

Battelle Energy Alliance, which runs the lab, announced last month as many as 185 could lose their jobs this fiscal year.

Holubar said during a two-week self-select period, 56 workers volunteered to leave.

“The number of voluntary was higher than we initially anticipated, which is great because that certainly then mitigates any involuntary actions that have to take place,” said Holubar.

Still, 19 are being laid off as part of reduction efforts. Holubar said they’re all positions not directly related to research done at the lab.

“We’re in the process of analyzing, right now, what the impacts are of these reductions and how much our cost structure changes because of that,” Holubar said.

That means there’s potential for more cuts.

In an interview with our station earlier this week, U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, said it’s a reflection of the budget given to the INL.

Simpson said he expects to see restructuring continue, to match the workforce with research needs.

“I was very disappointed in the Obama administration’s proposal last year,” said Simpson. “It’s the first time I’ve seen them actually walk back from nuclear energy.”

But the lab is taking its own steps to try to prevent further layoffs.

“Each time someone leaves the laboratory, we look at the real need to see if that position needs to be back-filled or not, and more often than not, we’re seeing it doesn’t have to be at this point,” said Holubar.

Holubar said the lab also looks to fill positions internally or move employees into direct-funded roles.

The INL said there’s no time frame for when the next round of cuts will be, if there is one at all.