BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 3, 2003--USEC Inc. announced today that it has secured U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding to temporarily retain 116 USEC plant personnel, previously expected to be laid off today.
In July, USEC announced that DOE would not extend funding for the Deposit Removal Program at the Portsmouth plant in Piketon Ohio beyond September 30, 2003. That would have forced the termination of 116 USEC employees working under that DOE contract, the Company said. The new funding announced today will enable those workers to be transferred to other DOE contract programs on which USEC works, through November 1, 2003.
"Through the leadership and flexibility of Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, Senators Mike DeWine and George Voinovich, Congressmen Rob Portman, David Hobson and Bob Ney and the U.S. Department of Energy, 116 USEC employees will continue to be employed as part of the larger Portsmouth workforce," said USEC President and CEO William H. Timbers. "I hope a permanent solution to this funding issue can be reached so that these employees will remain to help in the important array of Portsmouth programs in support of our nation's energy security goals."
These programs at Portsmouth include cleaning up contaminated uranium, site preparation for the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility and maintaining the plant in a cold standby condition for potential government restart.
USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU), a global energy company, is the world's leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.
CONTACT: USEC Inc.
Elizabeth Stuckle, 301-564-3399
SOURCE: USEC Inc.