DOE Warns Governors Layoffs Possible For More Than 28,000 Contract Employees

The Department of Energy may soon begin to lay off or furlough more than 28,000 contract employees in 10 states, according to letters obtained by BNA that were sent to governors warning them of how a nearly $1.9 billion reduction in its budget will affect their states.

The letters, which were sent the week of March 4 to states with a large department presence through DOE labs and other facilities, come on the heels of warnings from the agency that contractors were most likely to bear the brunt of the mandatory federal budget cuts known as sequestration that went into ...