Israel’s Dimona Nuclear Research Center Retiring 500 Workers

Israel’s Dimona Nuclear Research Center, site of the country’s first and only nuclear power plant, came online at some point between 1962 and 1964. The airspace over it is closed to all aircraft, and the area around it is heavily guarded and fenced off.

According to Dimona Nuclear Research Center management, the downsizing of the facility’s employees was achieved through generous retirement agreements, leading to 500 employees recently deciding to leave, Ma'ariv newspaper reported. Reportedly, Dimona Nuclear Research Center employees who agreed to the voluntary severance package were offered significant concessions and generous financial benefits if they agreed to take early retirement about 10 years before the accepted retirement age. Dimona Nuclear Research Center management circulated internal company memos among the facility’s work force outlining the proposed compensation package.

Accordingly, Ma'ariv reported that in the past few years more than 1,000 employees have retired from the Dimona Nuclear Research Center as a result of the new management policies. A number of the vacant positions have been filled by management’s recruitment of a modest number of new employees, mostly young.

When queried about the downsizing of the facility’s workforce Dimona Nuclear Research Center spokesman Ya'el Doron replied, "We do not intend to respond about every piece of data regarding the retirement or intake of our employees."

By. Charles Kennedy, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com