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Dive brief:
- Bechtel, one of the largest U.S. contractors by revenue, has stopped work on nuclear power firm TerraPower’s high-profile Natrium demonstration project in Kemmerer, Wyoming, and plans to lay off roughly 200 employees. according to a Notification of adjustment and retraining of workers filed in the state of Virginia.
- The split came about because Bechtel and TerraPower couldn’t agree on a way to move forward with the next phase of the project, according to the WARN notice.
- According to the notice, the affected employees will be laid off on or around November 16. Bechtel will aim to help these employees find new positions on other projects, which may reduce the total number of laid-off workers. For those who do not find other positions, the layoffs will be permanent.
Diving knowledge:
The Natrium Demonstration Project is an advanced nuclear reactor that uses sodium as a coolant instead of water. Bechtel started the project in 2024 for TerraPower, which is chaired by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. this construction of Unit 1 began in 2026, according to the contractor.
On August 31, TerraPower announced 12 new supplier awards for the projectaccording to a press release.
Molly Edwards, Bechtel’s head of global media relations, told Construction Dive via email that the company planned to move many of the affected employees to other nuclear projects in its construction portfolio around the world. The company was legally required to file WARN notices, but Edwards said Bechtel anticipates few actual layoffs.
“Given the important work being done at our company and the depth of experience these employees bring, we anticipate redeploying many of them to projects where their skills are most needed, including the nuclear facilities we are building globally,” Edwards said. Affected employees work at Bechtel’s expanded headquarters in Reston, Virginia, which was subleased earlier this year by the Washington Business Journal.
Bechtel’s other nuclear work includes the $5.4 billion Clinch River Nuclear Facility in Oak Ridge, Tenn., which Bechtel won in 2025, and the AP1000 nuclear power plant in Poland. Previously, so did Bechtel built Vogtle Unit 3 in Georgiathe first new nuclear power unit built in over 30 years, ending in 2023.
The company also signed a memorandum of understanding with US construction unions in May modernize learning programs for nuclear construction jobs.
