Layoff information

Layoffs at Fermilab will soon begin. The exact date depends on final DOE approval of the restructuring plan and the requirement for Congressional notification. As soon as DOE provides the date, Fermilab Today will announce it.

It is not easy to say goodbye to colleagues and friends of many years. Fermilab managers will carry out the layoffs with respect for employees and recognition of the personal impact of being laid off.

The majority of layoff notifications will happen over a three-day period.

• Day One: Computing Division, Technical Division, Directorate and Workforce Development and Resources Section
• Day Two: Particle Physics Division, ES&H Section and the Accelerator Physics Center
• Day Three: Accelerator Division, Facilities Engineering Services Section, Business Services Section and Finance Section

Employees who are to be laid off but who are not at work on their notification days will be notified as soon as possible.

On the day of notification, a member of the employee's Division, Section or Center will ask each individual employee to be laid off to come to a private location. The manager and an HR representative will meet privately with each employee and tell him or her of the layoff decision. Employees will turn in their keys, access cards, TLD cards (radiation cards) and badges to their D/S/C management. Immediately following notification, each person will have a meeting with a benefits representative who will provide individualized information on the status of all benefits and other important information. (Laid-off employees will have the opportunity starting the following week to sign up for a more in-depth consultation with a benefits representative.) Next, employees will meet with a Lee Hecht Harrison outplacement counselor to obtain information about the career transition process.

During the three days of notification a counselor from the Employee Assistance Program will be available onsite during business hours and 24/7 by phone or Internet.

Employees will be on paid administrative leave for two weeks following notification. The official termination date will be 14 calendar days following notification. Employees will need to sign up for an exit meeting held at the outplacement facility on or close to the termination date.

Employees will have many services available, including career transition services that will continue for up to six months at the Lee Hecht Harrison facility. Detailed answers to layoff questions are available on the Fermilab layoff information Web pages http://www.fnal.gov/faw/layoffs/, and answers to additional questions will be posted as quickly as possible.