KENNEWICK — The Hanford tank farm contractor notified the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council that it is looking to temporarily lay off 733 union workers because of the federal government shutdown.

Hanford Tank Waste Operations & Closure, or H2C, employs about 2,500 workers.

H2C sent a letter on Wednesday to HAMTC, an umbrella group for 15 unions doing work at Hanford. The letter was discussing directions from the Department of Energy to reduce staffing levels by Oct. 20 to the minimum needed to maintain safety at the Hanford tank farms.

However, by Thursday afternoon that letter had been rescinded as premature and efforts continue to delay any layoffs, although they remain a possibility.

And, if they happen, the number and mix of employees who could temporarily lose work could change

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