Painful layoffs at TVA's Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

photo A TVA contractor on Wednesday cut 600 craft workers and 200 support staff at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant. Photo by Kimberly McMillian

Layoffs are never easy, and at a time when nationwide unemployment is already distressingly high, the announcement of 800 layoffs at nearby Watts Bar Nuclear Plant is even more painful.

Most of the affected employees are contractors who work for Bechtel Power Corp., a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Valley Authority said.

The goal of the layoffs is to lower costs and boost work performance related to the construction of a second reactor at Watts Bar, which is near Spring City, Tenn.

The proximity of Watts Bar to Chattanooga means that almost certainly a number of Chattanooga-area workers are among those laid off, though officials did not know how many of the affected employees were from our immediate area.

At any rate, the news comes in difficult economic times, and we regret the impact it will have on hundreds of families.

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