First USEC Layoff Notices Affect 160 Workers

The first batch of layoff notices were given for USEC workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant on Monday.

Workers posting on social media say that 160 employees were affected, and their last day will be August 16.

Another round of notices is expected in October, with a larger number of workers affected.

In related news, USEC issued a press release, saying that they lost $40.9 million in the 2nd quarter of 2013, citing "transition costs" for Paducah as the main cause.

On May 24, USEC announced they could not reach a deal with the Department of Energy to continue their contract for enriching uranium at the plant. They stopped enrichment in June, and have been making preparations to return control of the plant to the DOE.

Local and state leaders, and representatives on Capitol Hill have advocated the plant to the DOE and other federal leaders, pushing them to continue funding plant clean-up, and to quickly consider Expressions of Interest from companies that might want to use the site and its uranium "tails," which can be re-enriched for profit while decreasing nuclear waste.