Speaking to business leaders in Jackson County, Ala., Wednesday, TVA CEO Bill Johnson said layoffs at the Bellefonte nuclear plant have begun under a plan announced this spring to put the reactor completion project on hold.
Johnson said the number of remaining plant workers will be cut from 500 to 150 over the next year, WHNT News reported. In June, TVA announced it would cut its Bellefonte workforce by two-thirds and dismiss 365 contractors and 35 of 60 TVA employees.
Bellefonte is home to two 1,260 megawatt Babcock & Wilcox reactors abandoned in the 1980s, and TVA decided to restart work on unit 1 in 2011. On Wednesday, Johnson cited energy efficiency and increased hydro production as reasons why the project is no longer economical, although it has not been cancelled completely. The federal utility has prioritized the completion of another unfinished reactor at Watts Bar that has faced cost increases and delays. The remaining workforce at Bellefonte will mostly focus on maintenance, security and planning.