Holtec International announced this week it would increase the minimum wage for employees at its U.S. manufacturing facilities to $15 per hour.
“This pay raise is a small measure of my appreciation for the hard-working individuals at all Holtec campuses,” President and CEO Kris Singh said Tuesday during a nuclear industry event.
The Camden, N.J.-based energy technology provider operates three manufacturing in the United States, with its oldest in Pittsburgh, Pa. Its products include systems for wet and dry storage of spent nuclear reactor fuel.
The raise also applies to the Ohio production facility for Holtec subsidiary Orrvilon Inc., which provides aluminum-based goods and services.
In a press release, Holtec did not say how many employees would now receive raises or how much it would cost the company. Representatives for the company did not respond by deadline to requests for comment.
Holtec has been moving aggressively into new nuclear waste storage and decommissioning businesses. It has filed a license application with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build and operate a facility in southeastern New Mexico for temporary storage of up to 173,000 metric tons of spent fuel from commercial nuclear reactors. The company also has announced plans to buy three nuclear power plants that are at or approaching retirement; it would then partner with Canadian engineering company SNC-Lavalin to decommission the facilities.
There was no immediate word Wednesday on whether the $15 base pay level would apply to the new anticipated operations.
In its release, the company also knocked the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, announced in May. The tariffs “on our raw materials … [have] hurt our global competitiveness and will likely crimp our business growth in 2019,” Holtec said.
