1,600 Jobs to Go at Magnox Nuclear Sites in U.K.

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The new company formed to oversee the decommissioning of 12 of the U.K.'s oldest nuclear power sites has announced plans to cut up to 1,600 jobs.

Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP), which comprises Babcock International Group plc (LSE:BAB) (London, England) and project management firm Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) (Irving, Texas), said the cuts are not wholly unexpected, as the decommissioning process of the old Magnox reactors has been under way for the past decade. The company was appointed by the government last year to help cut the costs of decommissioning.

"The mission to safely decommission the Magnox sites has always predicted reducing staff numbers over the coming years," the company said. "These proposed reductions arise from planned step downs in the work programme at a number of sites and the implementation of a more streamlined operating model for delivering decommissioning."

"Across the organisation, we expect there to be 1,400 to 1,600 reductions across the 12 sites over the period to September 2016," it added. "This reduction includes staff, agency and contract resource. Staff numbers at the 12 sites operated by Magnox Limited have been declining for a number of years as progress is made on the decommissioning programmes. The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has been assured that efforts will be undertaken to mitigate the impact of any job losses through an emphasis on voluntary redundancy, reskilling and the potential for alternative employment in Magnox Limited's parent companies, Cavendish Nuclear and Fluor Corporation."

The NDA awarded the contract to the Cavendish Fluor Partnership (CFP) last September, with the goal of saving U.K. taxpayers more than £1.5 billion ($2.32 billion) over the 14-year contract. The management contract is worth an estimated £4.2 billion ($6.5 billion). The partnership took over from Magnox Limited and Research Sites Restoration Limited (RSRL), both of which became part of CFP. For additional information, see September 9, 2014, article - Cavendish Fluor to Decommission 12 U.K. Nuclear Sites.

Of the 12 nuclear sites, Wylfa is the only one still generating power, but that is due to shut later this year. Wylfa was the largest and last reactor of its type to be built in the U.K. and has a generating capacity of 490 megawatts (MW).

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