300 Hanford Workers Laid Off

The first of more than 300 layoff notices were handed out to Hanford workers Tuesday in the last round of cuts this fiscal year at the federal nuclear reservation, a Department of Energy spokesman said.

The 60-day layoff notices were expected to be circulated Tuesday and Wednesday to employees of Westinghouse Hanford Co. and the contractor’s partners, ICF Kaiser Hanford Co. and Boeing Computer Services Inc., DOE spokesman Guy Schein said. Another two dozen notices were to be given to employees of another contractor, Bechtel Hanford Co.

The latest layoffs bring to about 4,500 the number of Hanford jobs cut this fiscal year as a result of federal budget reductions, he said. The site’s total employment is now about 14,500.