March 17, 2014

LOS ALAMOS, SANDIA INITIATE PLANS TO SHUT DOWN BY OCT. 21

By ExchangeMonitor

Contractors across the weapons complex continued to initiate shutdown plans yesterday, with Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory making plans to shutter operations by Oct. 21 if the shutdown persists. Sandia Director Paul Hommert said the lab was complying with National Nuclear Security Administration direction to “prepare for a safe, secure, and orderly shutdown” of the lab in a memo distributed to employees yesterday before an all-hands meeting. The lab is believed to have enough carryover funding to continue operating past Oct. 21, but Hommert said Oct. 21 “coincides with federal financial consequences that would require a shift in Sandia’s operational level by necessity.” He said if the shutdown occurs, “programmatic work will not be conducted” and the “functions that NNSA directs us to continue will be extremely limited.”

NW&M Monitor has also learned that Los Alamos is expected to announce soon, perhaps as early as today, that the last day for employees will be Oct. 17 and Oct. 18, depending on the regular work schedule of employees. About 600 “essential” employees are expected to remain at Los Alamos to protect the site and maintain important programmatic functions. Los Alamos spokesman Fred deSousa declined to comment, referring questions to the NNSA. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory could have to shut down earlier than the NNSA’s two other weapons laboratories, Livermore Director Parney Albright said in an all-hands meeting Monday, and Livermore spokeswoman Lynda Seaver emphasized yesterday that the lab has only committed to being open through the end of this week. “We have rebalanced funds to stay open at least through Friday and are coordinating with NNSA regarding contingency plans for anything beyond,” Seaver said. “Should anything change we will make an announcement later this week.”

In his memo, Hommert reflected feelings across the weapons lab when he said he was still hopeful that a shutdown for the lab could be averted. “It is conceivable that the congressional impasse will be resolved in the coming days,” he said. “I recognize the uncertainty and hardship this places on you and your families, and my hope is that, should we experience a shutdown, it is short. … Although Congress has not funded the federal government for the time being, we will eventually move past this uncertainty. Your service, ideas, and innovations are vital to national security, and this view is widely shared by those in Congress.”

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