Idaho National Laboratory contractors avoid cuts

IDAHO FALLS (AP) - Federal budget cuts won't cause a reduction in workers for three contractors at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho, officials said.

The U.S. Department of Energy doesn't expect layoffs for the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project or the Idaho Cleanup Project. Officials also said layoffs aren't expected at the Naval Reactors Facility.

Spending cuts, also known as sequestration, went into effect March 1 and require that $85 billion be trimmed from the federal budget between March 1 and Sept. 30.

The cuts were designed to force Congress and the White House to come up with a long-term plan to reduce federal budget deficits, but those negotiations have failed to produce an alternative acceptable to all sides.

Department of Energy spokesman Brad Bugger said the contractor for the Idaho Cleanup Project, CH2M-WG Idaho LLC, also known as CWI, has already cut more than 230 workers during the last 18 months.

Those previous cuts likely prevented more cuts.

"Obviously, it's good news from a company perspective, (but) we've really been operating under the assumption that sequestration will go into effect since the beginning of the fiscal year," said CWI spokesman Erik Simpson.

The company has headed the Idaho Cleanup Project since 2005, overseeing the treatment and disposal of radioactive waste, managing spent nuclear facilities and remediating waste buried at the lab decades ago.

Officials said the Naval Reactors Facility, while not losing workers, has restrictions placed on hiring, procurements, travel and other expenses.