Up to 300 jobs at Hanford Nuclear Reservation to be cut

RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) — Contractors at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state say they're preparing to slash up to 300 jobs by this fall.

The Tri-City Herald reports (https://goo.gl/xkHvCa ) that CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co., told employees Wednesday that 250 jobs would be cut as some major work is completed.

Mission Support Alliance, which provides support services at Hanford, is considering cutting as many as 50 jobs.

CH2M currently employs over 1,700 people, and Mission Support Alliance employs about 1,900.

Volunteers for layoffs and severance pay are being sought, but CH2M also expects to have involuntary layoffs.

The job reductions are related to progress on two key Hanford projects, demolition of the massive, contaminated Plutonium Finishing Plant and cleanup of the 618-10 Burial Ground.

The finishing plant for decades made hockey puck-sized tablets of plutonium for the nation's nuclear arsenal.