IBEW Local 1579 (Augusta, GA) members affected by downsized Savanahh River (Nuclear) Site

Posted on Mon, Dec. 20, 2004


Layoffs could also drain talent pool
Aiken, which has weathered other massive job losses, is fighting for new projects
By BEN WERNER
Staff Writer

This won’t be first time jobs have been lost at the Savannah River Site, but the latest announcement has community leaders concerned.

The Washington Group, which operates the plant for the U.S. Department of Energy, last week requested permission from the agency to lay off 1,200 workers by Sept. 30, 2005, and 600 to 800 more a year later.

The cuts were long rumored to be in the works, said Aiken mayor Fred Cavanaugh. What he worries about, though, is the potential talent drain from the area.

These are highly skilled workers trained for specific jobs, he said. For them, finding new jobs means moving away unless a new project comes to SRS.

“We need to get the Department of Energy and elected officials to get us other projects that they have talked about for years,” Cavanaugh said.

In 1992, employment at SRS was about 22,000. About 11,000 workers were laid off during the next few years.

“We thought that was going to be devastating to our community,” Cavanaugh said. “But it wasn’t because a lot of people retired and stayed in the community.”

Clay Killian, Aiken County administrator, echoed Cavanaugh’s hope that many laid-off people will decide to retire and stay in the region, but he’s not optimistic.

“Anytime you lose that number of folks in a short period of time, they’re going to want to find work and some of these people with specialties could find jobs at other DOE facilities,” he said. “I hope these folks can find work here and stay here.”

That’s why Killian said it is important for the community to rally behind a new mission for SRS.

“We’re always trying to sell our community,” Killian said.

But Johnny Hutcheson, assistant business manager and organizer for the electricians union IBEW local 1579, said unless a new mission comes to SRS, many workers will move away.

“Most of these guys won’t have anywhere else to go,” Hutcheson said. “They’re going to have to find new careers.”

He worries that even if his union members undergo career training, they still might be forced to leave the region to find work unless new jobs can be created in the SRS area.

Hutcheson is not sure how many of his union members will laid off. Most of the positions, he said, were operational — the people such as engineers who run the plant.

“This unfortunate news underscores the need for us to continue to fight for new missions at the SRS and to work hard to ensure the site maintains its ability to lead and support the development of our nation’s energy policy,” said U.S. Rep. J. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C. The Savannah River Site is in his district.

“Overall, great strides have been made this year in terms of funding for the SRS, but that does not mean that we cannot work to do better,” Barrett said.

Will Callicott, a spokesman for The Washington Group, said it is still being decided exactly which positions will be eliminated. “It will cover a pretty broad spectrum of jobs up to and including senior management,” he said.

Reach Werner at (803) 771- 8509 or bwerner@thestate.com.