From: Public Affairs Office Subject:Lab's 3161 Specific Plan Approved
NNSA approval has just been received for the Laboratory's specific workforce restructuring plan, which includes a voluntary self-selection option program (VSSOP).
Details will be announced to all employees on Monday, Feb. 4, in a 10:30 a.m. all-hands meeting in Bldg. 123.
In addition to Bldg. 123, employees will be able to view the live presentation from the auditoriums in Bldgs. 155, 453 and 543 and will have the ability to ask questions live, via a remote call-in.
The meeting also will be broadcast via Laboratory TV, channel 2.
Program specifics will be available to all employees on Monday afternoon via the MyLLNL portal.
56 comments:
So what do you think. Will George get his needed 730 volunteers or will he have to come back and can 300 more selected FTE afterwards. I'm going to bet he'll can the 300afterwards because they're the selected few ULM's been wanting to dumb for a long time and this is their one time opportunity to get rid of what type perceive as dead weight. If your on the EBA list come April consider yourself GONE. You have now been warned and it's time to exit on your own by finding a new job elsewhere.
I'm hearing rumors of eligible VSSOPers getting "first come/first served" preference and that seniority will NOT be the determining criteria for eligibility. Can anyone confim/deny?
I heard seniority is not a factor.
First come, firs served.
Many VSSOP-elligible people that were going to retire soon will take the VSSOP: that is a handful!
I cannot understand why anyone who has been here 30 + years is still here: greed? insanity?
"I'm hearing rumors of eligible VSSOPers getting "first come/first served" preference and that seniority will NOT be the determining criteria for eligibility. Can anyone confirm/deny?"
Check LAPIS after the talk and see if that has been determined for you. The same will go for the involuntary layoff in April. The list has been compiled since December, they just aren't telling you.
>"I'm hearing rumors of eligible >VSSOPers getting "first come/first >served" preference and that >seniority will NOT be the >determining criteria for >eligibility. Can anyone >confirm/deny?"
>
>Check LAPIS after the talk and see >if that has been determined for >you. The same will go for the >involuntary layoff in April. The >list has been compiled since >December, they just aren't telling >you.
.....and, according to the rencently rewritten policy manual, seniority is now clearly defined as "years of service with LLNS", not UC/LLNL. So, as it relates to RIFs, everybody in the targeted classifications is "at risk".
Let the good times roll.
Hey 11:38 am - There are many reasons several long time employees ( myself included ) will probably not take this VSSOP. If it is a maximum of 26 weeks pay, that is way low and not at all fair when you compare it with what LANL employees received ( 39 weeks pay plus guaranteed Unemployment Benefits from the State of New Mexico ). Many of us enjoy the work we are doing. We have many friends at LLNL that we enjoy working with. Some of us can't afford to retire due to various reasons. Some of us that are near retirement are worried the new management will take away our medical benefits after we retire.
The concept of first-come-first-served is just ludicrous on face value. That rumor has been very strong, with even GLs seeming to support it, but we'll have to see. It would seem that that is way too arbitrary as to not allow someone to claim that someone else had an unfair advantage due to any number of factors. Can you say lawsuit? I thought you could.
And, yes, seniority is not the basis LLNL/LLNS will use in a RIF, so I doubt that they will apply it either in place of first-come-first-serve. Recall that several years ago LLNL changed their RIF criteria from a seniority to a SKA basis. Seniority would only count when there are two employees with equivalent SKAs, and since SKAs are so nebulous, it'll probably never come up. Face it, they're going to keep who they want and to hell with the rest. I think Anastasio said at LANL that if they needed to decide between applicants (not sure they ever did), they would choose on the basis of who was most needed for the mission, ie, a SKA-like evaluation. I expect LLNS to be much the same.
You're 100% wrong on the "years of service" thing, though. According to Policies and Procedures:
"Service is continuous if an employee is on pay status each month without a break in service. A break in service occurs when there is a separation from Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC employment status. A separation from employment status for the purpose of transferring an employee to Contract 44 from Contract 48 is not a break in service."
Finally, I've been at LLNL for 30+ years and I'll tell you why I'm still here. First, I enjoyed my work and felt I was still making a contribution. Second, they never gave us any financial incentive to leave at the transition. Instead, they lied and said we'd all be OK. I didn't really believe it, but thought I'd take a chance. Better to have money coming in, than starting to live off your retirement/savings. And last, I'm was still a couple of years away from maxing out my retirement, so I thought I'd work as long as I could. You may call that greed, but when it comes to my and my family's financial future, I'm going to do all I can to try to maximize things. To do otherwise would be foolish. Why should I be altruistic. LLNS has shown it doesn't give a damn about us. Miller keeps saying THEY aren't doing this to US. No, George, YOU are doing it to US.
They've got us right where they want us. The constant FUD has led people to the point where they think this VSSSOP is a good thing.
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
Till you spend half your life just covering up
"I heard seniority is not a factor. First come, firs served. Many VSSOP-eligible people that were going to retire soon will take the VSSOP: that is a handful! I cannot understand why anyone who has been here 30 + years is still here: greed? insanity?"
February 2, 2008 11:38 AM
You have to be 62 to 65 to get social security and can't have a break in employment until then or you'll not be getting what's shown on your yearly SS promissory note. That figure in dollars is based on the assumption that you'll be employed until age 62 to 65 at the same salary you're currently making. For every year of unemployment before age 62 the SS averages in a ($0.0) income into the formula which consequently means the promised dollars won't be what's shown.
Social Security is now very important to LLNS employee's more so now than ever before since we're in 401k plan. With 49% of LLNL employees subject to a lifetime of poverty, witnessing a lot of very old people around LLNL for a very long time will become the norm. The earliest one can hope to leave LLNL is age 62 and maybe even 65 or 67 depending on what year you were born. But wait it gets better. Your actual retire date will depend on a few other very important factors. Is your house and cars paid in full and do you have $1.5M to $2.5M in your 401k and 403b combined with the hopes of earning a 7% return and then drawing only 4% until you're dead in order to not deplete the original sum before so. The bottom line is that. If you haven't accomplished these _three factors_ by your (desired ) retirement age you too should plan on working until such time you're found dead behind your keyboard while on the job. The good news is, your AD&D will set your survivors up for life and your worries are over. However if you should survive all of this you have a few more things to look forward to.
Once they do away with medical as part of your retirement benefits you'll have no choice but to work until you're 65 at which time you're eligible for medicare. Combine these wonderful realities with $4.00 a gallon for gas, a stock market that gives very little return, a housing market that's destroyed and highly unlikely to recover for next fourteen years or so, along with NNSA getting ready to bone you one more time with their new BENVAL whereby they're going to reduce your 401k matching funds and age factor; and you're screwed royally leaving you with little if any hope of ever retiring. But don't worry because you have a choice.
Make a lot of friends at work and be happy every day for what you have. With that accomplished maybe you'll be able to recruit enough co-workers to become pole bearers without having to run an ad in the newspaper asking for volunteers. In the meantime while you await your demise remember that life's wonderful and you have a few people to thank before you go. Please include on your list the rich concubines at the top of NNSA / DOE / LLNS / UC the congress and the senate. They deserve you full attention.
So there's your facts of life and reality check of today. Good luck and have a good day and let the good times roll, too.
February 2, 2008 3:14 PM
You forgot to mention the fact that we tax payers have to find a way to pay of the projected $1.42T debt for our Iraqi involvement. Oh that right, Exxon and Chevron are going to pick up that bill with their cheap labor and future oil refineries in Iraq. Sorry. Doesn't this equate to less funds to spend on R&D facility? Opps I let LLNS future out of the bag. I'm sorry.
I'm mixed up. What's with the first-come/first-served issue? Does anyone really think anyone NOT on the protected list won't get to take the VSSOP? In other words, do you think LLNS is going to get 730 people wanting to take the VSSOP? I think not and I don't think it will be a race to sign up. I think everyone who wants to go will be allowed to do so.
Here's the VSSOP Summary Report All rights reserved but subject to change without notice just as is your benefits package.
February 2, 2008 4:33 PM
If they don't get ther 730 with the VSSOP they will make up the difference with their involuntary RIF come April. So the party is not over after Feb 29th. The fun has only begun. You have to remember that you only have nine months before the next lower budget comes in and we get to do this all over again.
Better version of the GM, FR, SM party.
BUMP & GRIND
And then there's one more celebration to the rhythm of Santana.
Monday Morning Celebrationafter the 10:00 AM presenta
February 2, 2008 4:37 PM
Sounds like a little theme song for the LLNS ULM to rock to as they RIF their dedicated employees to pay for their extravagant lifestyles (GM - please don't shed a tear during Monday's talk) The real question is who's that on the stage? Oh, I see. It's ULM in their party costumes on the executive level of 111 celebrating another successful day at LLNL in their endeavor of reducing cost at LLNL.
This YouTube stuff is not helpful.
for those of thinking of taking the VSSOP I sugest you take it becausing it is going to get ugly at LLNL come april; there are two EBA list; first list is for those that were hired before sept. 27 1991, you will be offered another job possible as a janitor, labor, gardener,or some other classification a long with the pay grade, you will be told to take or hit the gate; the second EBA list is for those hired after sept. 27, 1991 you will be told to hit the gate!!!!!!!
"You have to be 62 to 65 to get social security and can't have a break in employment until then or you'll not be getting what's shown on your yearly SS promissory note."
1) Anyone who is eligible for SS can start SS benefits at age 62.
2) The amount shown on your annual statement of benefits is in today's dollars - the actual amount will be higher to reflect inflation in wages (not CPI inflation), and inflation in wages (from data SS uses) has been higher than the CPI for some time.
"That figure in dollars is based on the assumption that you'll be employed until age 62 to 65 at the same salary you're currently making."
If you're earning over the SS maximum wage, you could earn less salary than you do now, and still get the same benefit.
"For every year of unemployment before age 62 the SS averages in a ($0.0) income into the formula which consequently means the promised dollars won't be what's shown."
Absolutely not true - SS counts the highest 35 years of salary. So if you started working at age 22, you could bail at 57 and still get a full 35 years. Each year's earnings over your career are adjusted to reflect today's wages.
If you want to look into SS in more detail, they have a very detailed calculator you can download to your computer and play all sorts of what-if's. You can even select a conservative or non-conservative set of assumptions for inflation and wage growth, instead of the middle-of-the-road assumptions used to generate your annual SS statement. The results will be in future dollars.
But don't worry corporate america is going to take care of you if you live to age 95. yeah!!
Plans For All Ages
When in doubt ask questions diretly to SS
Retire Early, Get Screwed
SS Specialist. I suggest you visit the SS site and ask question. The poster you claim is wrong is in fact absolutely correct.
I retired early; will this reduce my benefit at age 62?
Question
I paid the maximum amount of Social Security taxes for many years and retired early. Then I took part-time employment and I am now earning much less. How will this affect my benefit at age 62 and at full retirement age?
Answer
First, if you begin receiving Social Security benefits at age 62, the earliest possible age for receiving retirement benefits, your benefit amount will be lower than if you had waited until full retirement age. See details on the amount of this reduction.
Second, because of the years when you worked part-time and had low earnings, your benefit amount may be lower than if you had continued in your previous job paying the maximum. Your benefit payment is based on how much you earned during your working career. Higher lifetime earnings result in higher benefits.
For more information, call Social Security at our toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to ask for Your Retirement Benefit: How It Is Figured (Publication No. 05-10070). Or you can go to our website to find this and other publications.
From the SS Q&A site.
Q. I stopped work at the end of last year at age 52. I don't expect to work again before I start my Social Security benefits when I turn 62. Will I still get the same benefit amount you showed for age 62 on the Social Security Statement that you recently sent me?
A. Probably not. When we averaged out your 35 highest years of earnings to estimate your benefits on your Statement, we assumed you would continue to work up to age 62, making the same earnings you made last year. If, instead, you have $0 earnings each year over the next 10 years, your average earnings will probably be less and so will your benefit. You can use our Benefit Calculators to see how this will affect your monthly benefit amount.
+++++
You lose !
Boned again, for most of us that retire from LLNL
Question:
Do I have to pay income tax on my Social Security benefits?
Answer:
Some people who get Social Security will have to pay taxes on their benefits. Less than one-third of our current beneficiaries pay taxes on their benefits.
You will have to pay federal taxes on your benefits if you file a federal tax return as an "individual" and your total income is more than $25,000. If you file a joint return, you will have to pay taxes if you and your spouse have a total income that is more than $32,000.
For more information, call the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) toll-free at 1-800-829-3676 and ask for IRS Publication Number 915, Social Security and Equivalent Railroad Retirement Benefits. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the IRS toll-free number, 1-800-829-4059.
February 3, 2008 10:05 AM and February 3, 2008 10:41 AM
February 2, 2008 10:25 PM here.
Neither of your posts contradicts what I indicated in my post.
The only way to get the maximum SS benefit is to work for at least 35 years at or above the SS maximum wage. It doesn't matter when you stop working, as long as you have those 35 years. Each prior year is normalized to the present based on wage inflation, so it doesn't really matter at what age you quit working.
Yes, if you start taking SS benefits at age 62, you get a lower benefit, but not because of your earnings. It's because you'd be taking benefits over more years. The benefit is reduced (over full retirement age benefit) by about 0.59% each month you take benefits early. If you wait until 70, your benefit goes up 8% per year from your normal retirement age benefit.
Regarding Unemployment Benefits for those employees that might take the VSSOP offer that our LLNL Director will present to us on 2-4-08, does anyone know if we give up our job, will they be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits from EDD ? I am also wondering if the employees that retired from UC but continued working for LLNS and decide to take this VSSOP - will they be eligible for Unemployment Insurance while they look for another job ?
February 3, 2008 11:34 AM
Who in their right mine is going to wait until 70 to take their SS benefits. Most people will be dead two years later. Nah, I'm taking mind at 62 and call it good. Better to have a little of something to pay my bills and medical insurance than to work until 70 and die two years later giving it all to some other bonehead.
Regardless it is as SS say. Stop work at 52 and have ten years of zero income and at 62 you will NOT be getting what your form says. period. So go ahead and retire early, sit back and enjoy but when you SS is less than you expect don't say you were not warned. Of course it really doesn't matter since if your income is more that $25K a year at retirement you'll pay federal tax on your SS too.
Your biggest fear in retirement should not be the amount of your SSN check. It should be fears about covering increased medical expenses.
Medicare is a budgetary disaster and you *WILL* be paying much, much more for medical care after age 65. Both LLNS and LANS will attempt to drop retirement medical coverage in the next few years, so you'll likely see no supplemental help from them to cover much higher Medicare expenses.
The Baby-Boom generation is in for a big shock after they retired. You have a good promise in terms of SS payouts but expect to see your wallet cleaned out by any medical expenses. There is no easy way for the US to get out this problem other than to make the old folks pay a much higher percentage for their health care.
The outcome of all this is that in about 15 years we will see two types of middle class retirees. On one side will be those who stay healthy and, thus, have retained savings to live a decent life style. On the other side will be those who don't remain healthy and descend into near poverty because of huge medical expenses.
Given the gloomy outlook for Medicare funding, it's going to be extremely important that you stay healthy in your Golden Years. The lab workforce should also scream loudly when either LLNS or LANS attempts to decrease or eliminate retiree medical coverage in the next few years. If they succeed in eliminating this benefit it may put you on a very dangerous financial path after you retire from the lab.
From what I've seen on the web (draft 3161 and LANL contract) there seems to be no reason to volunteer for anything. The separation pay is the same voluntary or involuntary and my eligibility for retiree health (TCP-2) is also retained. Has anybody heard anything different? Since every month I put off pulling the trigger on UC retirement increases my age factor I can see no incentive to go sooner rather than later.
"The lab workforce should also scream loudly when either LLNS or LANS attempts to decrease or eliminate retiree medical coverage in the next few years"
Knowing what I know about the Lab workforce, they wont scream about nothing! They are numb, fearful and will barely whisper.
Some will scream loud but anonymously, as we have seen on this and LANL's blog!
What we need is SPSE to start jacking people up!
February 3, 2008 1:51 PM
Well, it looks like LLNS is going to do exactly what I predicted.
They are dangling the carrot of medical coverage "while employed" at LLNL with the understanding that the length of your employment is not guaranteed. The only certainty you'll have as a LLNS employee is that ALL benefits will be terminated upon you release for what ever reason INCLUDING any future medical coverage.
So we are back to exactly what I said. YOU WILL work until you are 65 and eligible for Medicare. If you don't YOU will pay ~ $1000 a month for decent medical care. If you are TCP-1 or TCP-2 YOU are screwed, regardless.
This translates into what ever SSN you get will be used to pay for your medical coverage if by then you can get it that cheap. I sure hope this word gets out to the retirees who are now on a fixed income with no hopes of keeping up with cost. That little 2% crap they give you will not cover the increased cost of medical to come.
So who wins. Well of course it is ULM who get the big bonus checks for finding a means of cost saving to NNSA and guess what. Taking medical coverage away from all employees after retirement is with billions of dollar now and trillions of dollars over all retirees life span.
What a deal. You get the shaft and they get fat bonus checks for shafting you.
"What we need is SPSE to start jacking people up!"
February 3, 2008 2:04 PM
SPSE won't do a damn thing. They're tied in politically and think these issue can be resolved with "talks" using tact and finesse. Not !
It is hard to imagine how LLNS management could have screwed up the detailed plans for the VSSOP any worse. The targeted work groups, the detailed CAPs, and the total exclusion of NIF. All of these things will make the voluntary layoffs fall short of their goals but LLNS can claim they offered a VSSOP (to put on a good face to the community and the politicians). In the end they will layoff the targeted groups. Excluding NIF (one of the largest workforces at the laboratory) only amplifies the pain for the rest of the laboratory and alienates the NIF workers who wanted to take the VSSOP. This division of the laboratory into the "chosen ones" and the areas they do not care about, only pits everyone at the laboratory against each other. This is exactly the kind of thing that will ruin this laboratory. It would have been more productive to make the VSSOP available to all employees and move people around where critical people had left (including NIF). LLNS will learn a lesson the hard way that they need to treat all employees equally and fairly.
February 4, 2008 3:10 PM
You don't listen very well do you or as far as that's concern even reason very well.
NIF employees are only ineligible because they have a job to complete on schedule and that schedule does not moved and will not move.
They have been told by Moses that next year and the year after are going to be hell around there. These people are going to get it worse than anyone outside NIF. They are going to be laid off with no place to go. Yes the rest of the lab will die but at least you have a chance to find a job on the outside world and get paid for it to boot. Have no fear NIF people are going to get their's and they're going to get it good since at the time of their release there may not be a VSSOP at all.
On the other hand since LANS is going to take a 20% - 30% cut in budget next years we may or should I say will get to repeat this for the next 2.5 years.
So save the view graphs and just change the date. It's all going to be well. Regardless get use to this saga and enjoy the ride for as long as you can. As you can see 60% of the lab is eligible and 40% of the lab is not. That was a strong indicator to me that LLNS could in fact do away with 60% of the lab today and they'd be very happy, leaving only 40% to hold down the fort. That 40% equates to the to a work force of about 2,920. That's even less than the projected 4,500 we thought would be here in the end. Maybe LLNS already knows that next years will be bigger cuts and are planning accordingly. Now there's some cost saving and probably about the right amount of people to have at LLNL to get the remaining jobs done.
I really don't think anyone should feel warm and fuzzy for a few more years and even then this place will be like a huge cresting wave ready to break at at time.
The good old days are gone forever. Do yourself a favor and plan your life accordingly. Enjoy the fact that LLNS is only asking for 750 before IVSSOP. It is coming.
The poll 30 concerned LLNL employees out of 7,300. I guess that's all the force LLNL can muster. Any wonder why they get what they got and there's no union.
Hope you all take note of this text because if you screw up and miss this you'll be gone even if you don't want to be.
"Yes, you have a 7-day withdrawal period fromthe day you submit your application. Pleasenote this is a rolling 7-day period and couldinclude weekends and/or holidays."
Note fine print at the bottom of slide 14. 300 series, we are coming after YOU. You are overpaid and underworked and don't have a degree in basket weaving.
"* The T000 only includes the LLNL 500 Series Technicians. The 300 Series is included with the S000 & E000 for consistency of reporting."
You all are concentrating on the wrong things. Realize if you don't take the VSSOP, one of two things can happen: either they lay you off anyway or they let you keep your job (or find you one if you're EBA). In either case, it's better than quitting, which is what they're asking you to do with the VSSOP.
>Note fine print at the bottom of >slide 14. 300 series, we are coming >after YOU. You are overpaid and >underworked and don't have a degree >in basket weaving.
>
>"* The T000 only includes the LLNL >500 Series Technicians. The 300 >Series is included with the S000 & >E000 for consistency of reporting."
How do you figure????????
S&E (including 300s) 10%
Technicians (500s) 17%
Looks like the 500s are going to get hammered!!!
I'll bet that most 300 are older, more in TCP-2 then in TCP-1 and make the most money so it would be an idealistic target for LLNS. Remember these people are all about cost cutting and that includes people who make the most money unless they are management types.
Bush is proposing 150 billion to stimulate the economy for the purpose of creating jobs. Why is he gutting the labs at the same time? Are scientists less valuable than retail sales clerks?
Our enemies must be laughing at us. China is investing in hundreds of thousands of engineers. Looks like they will lead the global economy of the future.
Why are CAREER employees targeted after the VSSOP? I thought supplemental labor was "supplemental" and term was temporary for a specific term? Has anyone notice how few of the supplemental and term employees were actually let go? They counted all the career employees that left for any reason in the body count. Are they after the career employees? I think the answer has to be yes.
I, for one, cannot imagine any reason that anyone not already intending to leave would take the VSSOP. You forfeit 2 weeks notice or pay in lieu of notice, preferential rehiring, and likely unemployment, to say nothing of another months employment, maybe more. For one who doesn't want to go that is no bargain.
February 4, 2008 7:40 PM
What's you bet. 300 out of the 750asked for. Then what. 600 to go in late April. Either way they're going to get what they want. Less people, less people, less people. Think FY-08's bad wait until FY-09. Remember that only nine months away. This years RIF may be the calm before the storm.
Career employees are specifically being targeted to get rid of all the unwanted types. Remove the dead weight. Those they care about have already been exempted.
This is no ordinary downsizing.
Did you argue with management at some time during your career? Have any other traits they don't like? If so..pack your bags.
I agree with February 5, 2008 1:00 PM. Which is why it is crazy to drag this VSSOP out for two months after Miller first mentioned it was coming. Those of us who want to get out of this terrible LLNS company are ready to leave NOW! I don't want to wait around for over a month to get out!
I am thankful for the bobble-head UC management that continues to run the lab. Being put on EBA was a gift from LLNS, as I used the time to find a new job. The great thing about LLNL (as opposed to LANL) is that we live in an area with a great economy and lots of job opportunities. I didn't even have to move, and I have a great science job lined up. I am eagerly counting down my final days in this terrible organization. I just can't believe I have to wait around for over a month to collect my winnings and get out!
Who's Zoomin' Who?
This is another example that shows the ineptitude of LLNS management and the degree to which they will kowtow to NNSA. Just as they screwed up the transition by trying to make it worse than what transpired at LANL, they are trying again to scare you into accepting less. The best thing that could happen would be that the LLNL population will see through the deception (just as many did for TCP-1) and minimally participate in this VSSOP.
What's wrong?
First and foremost, they are asking you to resign instead of laying you off! Along with this, they are specifically making you give up any notice or pay in lieu of notice. There's a reason that clause is specifically in the agreement that you sign (electronically) when you check the box on LAPIS.
And this bad because?
They keep telling you that it's the same whether you participate in the VSSOP (resign) or must leave later via the ISP (get laid off). But if you are laid off, they must give you notice or pay in lieu of notice. It's in their Policies and Procedures. In Wong's answer to the 26 vs 39 weeks question, he said LLNL only got 26 weeks because it's in the LLNL policies. They can't selectively enforce their policies and choose which to obey and which to ignore, and just like severance, notice is in there.
Observe also how they skirted the unemployment question, basically saying it's up to you to figure it out. I'm no expert in this, but since when has unemployment ever been given to someone who resigned from a job. It usually comes down to who was the initiator that caused separation, and, if you resign, that'd be you.
This whole thing is an effort at hiding part of the horrible truth of the privatization of the Labs. They want to be able to say, "Hey! we didn't lay those people off - they left of their own accord. They resigned!" My only hope is that the word gets spread far and wide: DON'T DO IT! Don't give up your rights! Don't participate in the VSSOP. Make them pay you all that you are entitled to. Make them own up to what they've done and allowed to be done to LLNL.
The previous two posts are both right. If you don't have something lined up, this VSSOP is bad and there is no reason to leave now. If someone has a reason to leave, then this VSSOP is bad because the process drags out for well over a month.
If you are a bright, in demand scientist or tech, why would you want to waste building the rest of your career at an NNSA lab?
The trend is clear. If you can, get out now and save your career and your sanity. Life is too short to waste it working for an outfit like NNSA which seems to enjoy crapping on their employees.
All LLNS has to offer for the future is more job insecurity, stagnant salaries, loss of benefits, and greater numbers of crazy new policies that hinder your work. That's no future.
February 6, 2008 11:16 AM has it the nail on the head. Well put!
It looks like 40% were saved and 60% have been given an invite to leave any time they want. There you go. We've finally been given an idea of what the work force of the future should look like at LLNL. I thought 4,500 was a good number before but it looks more like 2,900 is desired. Yes we have caps but only to avoid public scrutiny and economic impact.
By the time they finish taking down a few buildings and reducing the workforce there will be a lot of room for parking.
It is about time to trim the fat. We all know there has been dead wood that accumulated throughout the year!
I wonder how many people with the title "deputy" are eligible for VSSOP.
Time to trim the fat? What does that mean? Roughly the same percentage of scientists and support staff are getting cut. The fat remains...
I am learning that even though NIF is supposed to be excluded from the VSSOP, some of them are being allowed to participate. It depends on who you know and the "back room" deals.
Anyone who thinks that LLNL can get by with 2900 people obviously doesn't do any work and probably needs to go. There is no other explanation for being that out of touch.
Furthermore, the purpose of these reductions is to avoid having to do this again in the future. The VSSOP saves little or no money this year.
The big fear should be to few people taking the VSSOP followed by no involuntary reduction. Because that will almost certainly lead to the lab going through the same process again next year.
It's a zero sum game people. Be pissed off at NNSA and Congress. They are the ones cutting the budgets and making the decisions. LLNS may or may not be evil/incompetent/whatever, it doesn't matter that much. At the end of the day there are a limited and shrinking number of dollars. Given that dynamic bad things are going to happen no matter who is in charge.
LLNS is the messenger. Nothing more.
As for back room deals, if you want to leave and you are not eligible talk to your manager. I suspect in the vast majority of cases they'll accommodate you. If you don't have the courage to ask then please don't whine.
February 9, 2008 1:41 PM
Why not get it down to 2,900 to 4,000 by June of 2008 and get this over with? We all know if they don't we're going to have this year after year.
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