Talen to cut 80 jobs at local power plants

Last updated: July 22, 2016 - 4:50pm


BERWICK — Talen Energy plans to cut 53 jobs at the nuclear power plant here, and just under 30 more at the Montour Steam Electric Station near Washingtonville, a company spokesman says.

The cuts fall across many departments at the plants, according to a document released by the union which represents Talen workers.

Chemistry technician, clerk, mechanic and handyman positions are among the job titles facing cut backs at the Susquehanna plant, while the 29 positions the company is looking to cut from Montour cover 15 separate job titles. See the whole list here.

Talen spokesman Todd Martin said the union has 10 days to review the company's plans. No employees have yet been notified of a job loss because the company and union have to ensure the proper people are identified based on seniority.

It's part of a restructuring meant to combat a triple threat the company faces at its coal and nuclear-powered plants: Natural gas is historically cheap, it costs more than ever to comply with government regulations on burning coal and renewable energy prices are being kept lower through government subsidies, Martin said.

The nuclear plant has about 1,100 workers. Earlier this month, the company announced that 10 management employees there had been laid off and 40 others agreed to leave their positions voluntarily.

Susquehanna had a higher level of staffing than other "top-performing plants," Martin said. Even with the reduction in workers, "our primary focus continues to be safety," he said.

Martin said he expected these cuts – which also included 42 jobs at a York County power plant and seven workers in Allentown who were dedicated to the Susquehanna plant – would be all the reductions the company expected through the end of the year.

"Moving forward, we'll continue to assess staffing levels," Martin said.

Calls to IBEW Local 1600, which represents the unionized workers at Susquehanna and Montour, were not returned Friday.

For all breaking news alerts and updates, follow us on Twitter.


Last Updated: March 4, 2024 - 12:59pm

SALEM TWP. — Talen is selling its data center business — and a bunch of the power from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant north of Berwick — to Amazon Web Services, it announced on...

READ MORE »

Last Updated: February 27, 2024 - 12:46pm

SALEM TWP. — State Police are asking the public for help finding a missing woman they say is endangered, even as...

READ MORE »

Last Updated: February 22, 2024 - 8:01am

CATAWISSA — A vacant house trailer went up in flames here early Thursday, with fire crews needing to call in help from five surrounding companies to douse the fire in a small trailer...

READ MORE »

Advertisement