Dominion to lay off up to 75 at Millstone

Waterford - Dominion plans to lay off as many as 75 people at the Millstone nuclear complex by April 1.

The firm, which is the parent company of Millstone owner Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, announced the coming layoffs Monday, saying fewer than 150 people participated in a buyout, or voluntary separation program, first offered in January, according to Dominion spokesman Richard Zuercher.

"We have done benchmarking in the industry and we've identified the positions that need to be in place in order to safely operate a nuclear power station," Zuercher said. "We will not do anything to jeopardize the safety of the nuclear power station. However, we have more employees than we need."

Dominion has refined fleet efficiency standards using information from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations and the Nuclear Energy Institute and compared work forces at similar power stations to demonstrate that Millstone can operate "safely and reliably with a smaller work force," Zuercher added.

The company believes it can operate two Millstone reactors, Units 2 and 3, and maintain the shut-down Unit 1 reactor, with between 1,060 and 1,085 employees, he said. About 1,285 employees work at the site now.

Last month, 550 employees at the nuclear power complex were eligible to apply for the buyout. Those workers are at least 55 years old and also have at least three years of company service, or will meet those requirements by March 1.

Zuercher would not identify the job classifications with "excess staffing," but noted that remaining employees could be shifted into positions that are deemed necessary.

Employees who are laid off will receive the same benefits package as people taking the buyout, Zuercher said. The buyout provides two months of pay, plus a month's pay for every year of service up to 18 years.

Forms were distributed Monday to employees who are eligible to leave. Those workers can still voluntarily choose to leave by 5 p.m. Feb. 15.

Those workers the company selects to leave will be notified by March 22, he said.

Employees taking the buyout will be gone by March 1, unless their work is associated with an upcoming refueling outage, Zuercher said.

Dominion bought the station in 2001.