Employees who applied for the Labs Voluntary Self-Selection Option Program (VSSOP) were formally notified of their acceptance yesterday. According to Art Wong of Human Resources, 215 employees exercised this option.
These employees have been notified and our office is working with them on the exit process. We wish them well in their new endeavors, he said. HR will set up an exit center at the Labs Training Center on Friday, March 14.
Departing employees and their supervisors are reminded to safely transition appropriate Laboratory documents and property such as keys, classified documents and other important material and government-owned property.
I want to thank our departing employees for their dedication to our Laboratory, said Director George Miller.
I hope all employees will join me in acknowledging their contributions to the Laboratory and the nation.
The final breakdown of VSSOP acceptances can be viewed on the Retooling the Workforce Web page. Employees will see two charts the first breaks down the VSSOP acceptances by PAD
The second breaks down the VSSOP applications by workforce-job code.
Now that the VSSOP is in the final stages, Miller noted that the senior management team is directing efforts toward further cost reductions.
Due to inflation and reoccurring costs, we have a $200 million annual budget problem, he said.
In addition, in order to be more competitive, our goal is to reduce the cost of our work to our customers in FY09 to the FY07 levels. So we must continue to explore ideas and opportunities to reduce costs.
Miller has asked Ed Moses, principal associate director for NIF and Photon Science, and Frank Russo, principal associate director for Operations and Business, to lead a cross-directorate, institutional team to look at opportunities for additional efficiencies and cost reductions.
Our team, under the direction of Deputy Director Steve Liedle, made great progress in this area, said Miller.
Our gains in energy savings, purchasing and non-labor-type services have been important. We need to go further so we will continue to re-engineer our Laboratory to have competitive rates.
In addition to the work by the Russo-Moses team, planning is under way to determine if additional workforce restructuring including a potential involuntary separation plan should be implemented.
This is not an easy decision and we have not made the final determination on our path forward, said Miller.
I will be updating the Laboratory on our plans in mid-March. In the meantime, I hope all employees can continue to identify ways to reduce our costs.
We want those re-engineering opportunities and all ideas are welcome."
37 comments:
I love the PC terminology for who can we trash-can next? What non-compliant pain in the butt have you been trying to get rid of for years but haven't legally been able do so. Here's your one time opportunity to get rid of everyone you don't like. Now Get-R-Done. You have 48 hours to wrap it up. I want a list in my office with names.
"Miller has asked Ed Moses, principal associate director for NIF and Photon Science, and Frank Russo, principal associate director for Operations and Business, to lead a cross-directorate, institutional team to look at opportunities for additional efficiencies and cost reductions."
"This is not an easy decision and we have not made the final determination on our path forward, said Miller."
This is now sweat off for him or the LLNS clan. This is what they get paid to do and I'll assure you that each and everyone of these people have done this many times. While you're wondering who's next and how to keep a roof over your head, they are having celebrations of success and watching their bank account grow faster than you could spend it. Yes sir buddy, it's all good at the top. One of the posters out here had it right when he referred to the LLNL employees as the slaves and having to say Yessa master when told what to do.
Ed Moses is a great choice for cost reductions. If he uses the same approach as he did in NIF, he will simply propose to charge the costs somewhere else. NIF was able to meet its budget only by getting cost breaks that had to be absorbed by the rest of the Lab. Maybe Ed can get the costs charged to LANL.
No, Mr.Ed and Russo are good at this because it's what they do best without a loss of sleep. It will be done ruthlessly.
Has George Miller ever been truthful?
George Miller doesn't know how to tell the truth. Every time he opens his mouth giant globules of man spunk spill out. I feel for the 500 series techs. They are going to get drenched by a rain bird of poo-poo shortly.
Every time I think of George Miller and Ed Moses I think of a dung beetle rolling its prize across the savanna. You choose which is which. To me they are interchangeable.
Just read in the Livermore Independent that LLNS has now given over $1.1M to the local community. Bet those who lost their jobs last week feel much better now.
Hail, George! We who are about to loose our jobs salute you.
I'm Not really sure how they think they can cut costs at this point without outright firing people.
We have been running on fumes for quite a while. We were squeezed to cut costs for the transition, then right after the transition, then during the vsp.
"...opportunities for additional efficiencies and cost reductions." A sample of a few ideas I bet they come up with;
- Close the cafeterias (pack a lunch).
- Close Medical (if you're sick go home and stay there).
- Charge for parking on site (walk to work).
- Sell off the buffer zones (nice location for new Condos so you can walk to work).
- Reduce the hazardous materials and lab chemicals on site by 90% and close the waste storage/management facilities (goodbye RHWM and EPD).
- Sell Site 300 to Tracy or the State as an expansion of Carnegie Motorcycle Park.
- Remove all PU and close SuperBlock so they can fire 75% of the ridiculously heavily armed guard force (goodbye PFD)
- Have NIF staff take over all facility and infrastructure services.
- Fire all secretaries, except those working for the DO, PADs and ADs.
- Close all office supply stock rooms around the lab (if you need paper and pens, get them from your kids or the neighbor's kids).
- Restrict all lab phone (except those on the 5th Floor of 111 and at NIF) to one 5 minute call off site a day.
- Close HR and Benefits Department (since LLNS and NNSA could careless about the wellbeing of lab employees).
I feel Lab management is not truthful. They know the bulk of cuts comes from workforce reductions and not from energy savings and nickel and dime reduction. Yet, they give this false hope that some how further layoff may not be needed, if these other cuts succeed. You and I know that is misleading. ULM think we are gullible. We know the biggest layoffs are ahead. I wish Georgie has a moment when he just let it hang out. We know he wants to ensure he has the highest 3-year average salary before he retires and is just thoughing out and playing LLNS/NNSA game. In private, he probably says: what the blank are we doing?
I'd bet money that 5 years from now LLNL will have only 3500 employees spread among 4 Principle Directorates:
- NIF
- Computations/Supercomputing
- Global Security (Nonproliferation, Z Div, and NARAC)
- Business/Lab Support Services
All others - including direct nuclear weapons work, Site 300, 332/331, HEAF - will be history... if the lab is lucky many they'll create a Basic Research Directorates for WFO...
Anyone have counter thoughts?
Let’s see, GM wanted 750 and he got 216. That is only 28.8% of what he wanted. One interesting fact is I believe he stated the average yearly attrition is around 4%. Fewer people left last year and only 3.65% took up George’s VSSOP offer.
Does that have anything to say about the tanking housing market and the recession, or are we all gluttons for punishment and enjoy seeing what we’ve worked on over the years being tossed out?
Does anyone have a breakdown of who took the VSSOP? How many were ULM or charging overhead accounts versus those who were charging programmatic accounts? Most of those I know about were on programmatic accounts so that means fewer people generating money and not much of a dent in the overhead rate. The overhead rate can only go up, since as the VSSOPers laboratories offices are shut down and closed, there are fewer people paying the overhead taxes for all the ULM etc., this will be spread among fewer people. Fun days ahead!
LLNS never expected the VSSOP to make a significant reduction in FTEs. The offer at LANL was much more lucrative and attracted only about 450. Furthermore, the LANS folks had been under the new contract for a year and a half, and many of the double dippers were ready to leave.
Ironically, because of delays and additional layoff notices needed, the ISP will end up costing LLNS significantly more per employee than the VSSOP.
March 9, 2008 6:34 AM
Please explain how an ISP cost more than a VSSOP when the departure pay is the same. In manpower?. Who cares they're paid for anyway. It doesn't cost LLNS a dime more plus as well know they can afford it. They just fired a bunch of people and gave $1.1 to Livermore in hopes to make some friends. Good luck on that one.
The firing of people at LLNL just cost Livermore, Manteca, Ripon, Escolon and some other surrounding cities a 1000 times than that in sales and revenue.
Maybe the cities that were affected need to send LLNS a bill for their year end losses. That should be an eye opener for LLNS.
Please explain how an ISP cost more than a VSSOP when the departure pay is the same. In manpower?
Sunk cost in paying the RIF'd staff during the time it takes to get to the point of being able to execute an ISP.
ISP staff get severance plus pay in lieu of notice (or pay while they're "on notice" and probably not very productive). VSSOP'd staff got severance only.
Post-RIF legal challenges.
March 9, 2008 6:34 AM, That $1.1 million came out of the money LLNS gets paid to run the lab. It has at best a tenuous relationship to people being let go.
Would you prefer that LLNS keep the money and pay it to ULM as bonuses and/or the member companies?
"ISP staff get severance plus pay in lieu of notice (or pay while they're "on notice" and probably not very productive)."
Pay in lieu of notice not likely to happen. Not allowed in the contract, and DOE does not seem inclined to waive.
1.1 mill would pay salary for three employees so it wouldn't have much of an impact. But it is bad public relations to be giving away money while you are booting people out the back door.
Lower the fee. LLNS is worth nothing.
The addition of Bechtel and Battelle folks has added nothing. Fire all new Becthel and Battelle new hires and replace them with more capable folks from the existing labor force and have a better outcome. Leidle, Russo, Doesburg, Brown and the human resources witch have added nothing.
LLNS Communication is worse, choices are colder, waffling has increased and bureaucracy abounds. Confusion and poor execution are the norm. The new folks are waiting for someone to tell them what to do.
Get rid of the detritus and lower the fee. Get rid of useless Bechtel and Batelle.
view from mid-chaos
LLNS is a failure.
I agree with March 10, 2008 3:26 PM
I would add this: If you thought compliance work (busy work to satisfy unfunded DOE mandates and to respond to DOE audits) was a big percentage of our time before LLNS, it has increased with LLNS and it is the tip of the iceberg. LLNS will expect you to do compliance work plus useful work plus the work of others when they get laid off.
We are working more for less, face an uncertain immediate future, fear for TCP1 not paying off etc...
How in heck can LLNS reach the requirement set by NNSA: which is to attract and keep the best talent.
No way in heck. Bad publicity about LLNL has reached the entire bay area and even other states.
People are starting to leave for greener pastures.
This only shows LLNL's importance to DOE/NNSA.
"Pay in lieu of notice not likely to happen. Not allowed in the contract, and DOE does not seem inclined to waive."
If there is no pay in lieu of notice, a 200-series employee like me with over 20 years service will require 120 days notice. During that time I will earn 8 days of vacation and 4 days of sick leave. In addition, I will have time to use the sick leave earned since Oct 1.
It would not surprise me if DOE does not realize the real disadvantage of not allowing pay in lieu of notice. They are even more incompetent than LLNS.
Moses and Russo huh.
A mafia marriage made in hades.
Niether has weapons experience or knowledge. Big egos, highly competitive, inferiority complexes, strong need for conformity, both value the appearance of integrity... Can cut weapons without knowledge or remorse.
A perfect match for the Bodman and D'Agostino NNSA.
It's a long fall indeed from UC to LLNS.
Good news is, we can't even see the point of impact yet.
let the flailing continue
Lower the fee. UC got $10M per year it didn't want for dubious value. LLNS is counterproductive and gets $65M/yr.
Bodman and D'Agostino...Bush the minor's own Laurel and Hardy.
Lower the fee. Get rid of the Bechtel and Battelle bystanders.
They don't act, while real labbies wait for direction, so we are all paralyzed.
Get rid of LLNS.
Consider. To be of no value, LLNS should easily bring the talent and reorganization skill to bear to earn its fee without impact. If it brings in $65M in value and collects $65M is fee, it doesn't help but doesn't hurt. LLNS has no value.
To be of value, it should bring greater value - much greater value - than $65M in changes. And not by cutting or curtailing essential or useful activities but by getting the same product for less work.
But LLNS is stumbling worse than UC. It has brought in weak indecisive players, (and a mean one - the benefits witch). It has done nothing of value to offset the $65M fee. The savings they claim carry the additional price of reduced support, reduced effectiveness,slower response and many lost talented people.
LLNS has negative value. Dump it.
Save $65M.
Bodman and D'Agostino ruined 2 national treasures and wasted $180M in taxpayer fund for transition.
Dump them.
"... was a big percentage of our time before LLNS, it has increased with LLNS and it is the tip of the iceberg. LLNS will expect you to do compliance work plus useful work plus the work of others when they get laid off..."
I work 7.5 hours a day. If directed to work only on useless misadventures, that's management's problem, not mine.
You mistake me for someone who still....
As far as notice or pay in lieu thereof, it's still in the contract. This issue was addressed in Rumors section of Newsline, and they said there would be notice or notice pay for at least this first round of involuntary lay offs. After that, who knows. As noted in Newsline, the policies and procedures are still under revision.
(Additionally, as pointed out by SPSE, the original LANS contract had the same severance as ours. LANS later asked for it to be returned to the the terms LANL had under UC. So LLNS could have asked for an increase to match LANS, but didn't. As the commercial says: "Oh, well. The End.")
As far as what NNSA won't allow, they've said they won't allow any incentive plan to manage the workforce.
Georgie Boy has said he will address the troops about the path forward in mid-March. The way I see it, mid-March is Saturday, after all the VSSOPs leave on Friday. If LLNS had their act together, they'll have an All-Hands Monday or Tuesday and say they've got the list of 500 ready and try to get them out the gate by the end of the month. But, of course, LLNS is the gang that couldn't shoot straight and they'll probably delay a while before screwing up the courage to actually lay employees off involuntarily. Oh, well. The End. (Or maybe just the beginning of the end.)
"March 10, 2008 7:42 PM"
Don't forget the 401K LLNS
contributation (approx. 10% of
monthly salary)for TCP2'ers ... then again, they are incompetent ... so anything can happen.
The LLNS experiment has been a total failure! Not one thing has improved at LLNL since LLNS took over from UC, and UC ran LLNL at a fraction of the cost of LLNS.
One thing poster should remember - UC is taking its share of the LLNS fee and putting it back into Lab research, while Bechtel is putting its share into its corporate bank account... the crime is the fee comes out of LLNL's base budget (NNSA did not add any money to the contract). So LLNL is getting raped by LLNS/Bechtel, and having to pay for this assault at the same time.
"As far as notice or pay in lieu thereof, it's still in the contract. This issue was addressed in Rumors section of Newsline, and they said there would be notice or notice pay for at least this first round of involuntary lay offs."
This is what was actually in the Rumors section:
"The option of pay in lieu of notice is in our policy and is at the discretion of the Laboratory and NNSA."
Basically, our policy is in conflict with the new Contract. NNSA holds the final say of pay in lieu of notice. Waiver was approved for the initial wave of FX and SL terminations.
LLNS is not going away. Whining about it doesn't help.
I have great sympathy for anyone who is losing their job. Everyone else should get used to the new system, like everyone in the private sector has to, or move on.
9:23 AM, I wouldn't be so sure about the future of LLNS. We use to say "UC was here running LLNL before DOE was born, and would be around after done away with" ...
"...like everyone in the private sector has to, or move on..."
This myth is fine for robots, Mr. Orwell. Humans grieve....
and comply.........maliciously, mischieviously, halfheartedly, haphazardly, absentmindedly, unwittingly, unwillingly, ineffectively, indifferently, despondantly....
A former Crown Jewel, LLNL is now a $1.6B per year social experiment on how a wounded work force recovers from being mistreated.
For those of you who say get over it, reread third paragraph.
The third paragraph is pure whining.
Grieve constructively.
The third paragraph?
Seriously?
That's about as pure as whining gets, and unprofessional to boot. The people who are paying your salary have established priorities and expectations. As I believe someone said earlier, if you can't stand that, move on.
If you can stay and collect a paycheck maliciously, mischieviously, or any of that other pathetic stuff, you're bad news.
It's about time for the Lab to have an ISP, and it is especially good that the majority of the departees are in the support organizations.
We have developed our own group of bureaucrats who are as worthless as their LSO counterparts. Not only are our programs taxed to pay their salaries, but they create unnecessary work for the real workers.
"It's about time for the Lab to have an ISP"
You are forgetting Chaos theory. If just 1 bright scientist chooses not to come to LLNL because of this, or we lose 1 of our best scientists over this, this nation may lose many times more than the costs savings.
"You are forgetting Chaos theory."
If I were not close to retirement, there is no way I would work at the Lab. However, if anyone chose not to come to a company because it laid off people it didn't need, he probably could work only for the government.
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