Brookhaven National Laboratory lays off about 20 workers

Brookhaven National Laboratory on Monday announced what it called a "limited number" of staff cuts, due partly to the closing earlier this year of its signature heavy-ion collider.

About 20 workers, including scientists, technicians, supervisors, engineers and operators, were let go, said Pete Genzer, a spokesman for the Upton lab.

The terminations leave about 2,950 workers at the sprawling campus off William Floyd Parkway, Genzer said in an email.

Brookhaven Lab workers technically are employed by Brookhaven Science Associates, which manages the laboratory on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy.

In a statement, Genzer said "a limited number of employees at Brookhaven National Laboratory have been involuntarily separated." He added the lab and Brookhaven Science Associates "are grateful for the contributions of each impacted employee."

The lab remains "committed to delivering on vital missions to understand the building blocks of the universe, lead in discovery with light-enabled science, develop next-generation information science and capabilities — including AI and quantum — and advance energy security and essential resources independence," Genzer said.

The Brookhaven staff reduction comes amid budget cuts previously announced by the Energy Department.

Last year, the agency announced it was trimming 321 grants for 223 projects nationwide. Energy officials at the time said the cuts, which included research into clean energy, supply chains, energy efficiency and renewable energy, saved taxpayers about $7.56 billion.

Earlier this year, Brookhaven confirmed it had offered voluntary separation packages to an unspecified number of workers. A source said the number of employees offered separation packages was 40.

More than half of this week's departures were due to the shutdown in February of the lab's $2 billion Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, a 25-year-old atom smasher that in its heyday advanced research into the origins of all matter in the universe. 

The collider was closed to make way for a new one, the $2.9 billion Electron Ion Collider, currently under construction.

The new collider is expected to help scientists from around the world study gluons, the mysterious matter believed to bind together key molecular material known as quarks.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.