People leaving

In a comment to the Update post, there is a request for more information about the number and kind of people leaving the Lab and about the budget situation.

This story is important to each worker. It is also long and complex. It varies from division to division and group to group. It is different for people in their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, and beyond. It differs from X to P to HR to NMT.

If someone wants to know a best estimate of the story that applies to them, they should email or call me directly. If they want a plan to protect themselves and their families against the likely future of the Lab, they should also contact me. As you can see by reading other posts in this blog and by reading the archives, I have been trying to find the truth about the future of LANL for a long time.

To get this story started, I propose four questions. The answers to these questions seem to be critical to predicting the future of the Lab.

1. Whatever happened to the $200,000,000 shortfall in the budget? This translates to more than 1,000 lost jobs.
2. If random polygraph testing is initiated and people lose their clearance and are fired, who will choose to work at LANL and who will buy the many houses that are on the market now?
3. If your buddies in other divisions no longer work at LANL and a number of businesses in the town close for lack of customers, do you still want to work here?
4. If the value of your house drops so that you now owe more on the mortgage than your house is worth, is that OK with you? In many communities with similar budget problems, this is what happens.
   

More later