235 Hanford Workers Given Pink Slips Monday

Sequestration and automatic budget cuts forced Hanford contractors to lay off 235 workers Monday.The job cuts were mostly union positions, but did include 27 non-union workers.

Some jobs were saved due to union workers volunteering to take off time in an agreement proposed by the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council.

Mission Support Alliance laid off 112 union workers. CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Company, a contractor responsible for environmental cleanup and treatment of contaminated groundwater, laid off 59 union workers and 7 non-union colleagues. Washington River Protection Solutions, a contractor in charge of the tank farms, laid off 37 union workers. Washington Closure Hanford, a contractor in charge of cleaning up Hanford along the Columbia River laid off 20 non-union workers. More employees will lose their jobs as the clean-up project along the river nears completion.

The last day of work for most of the laid-off employees is March 28.