The Savannah River Site, a federal entity which processes nuclear materials near Augusta, is offering severance packages to employees who choose to leave their jobs voluntarily. Officials there say they're looking at likely freeing up dollars from those salaries for what they term higher priorities at the site, although they did not give specifics about what those priorities might be. They also did not connect the voluntary severance offer to tough economic times. A spokesman for the site was unsure if mandatory layoffs would follow, saying that depends on the status of federal funding under review by Congress. The employees will get a week's pay of severance for each year they've worked the site, for up up to 26 weeks. They can also take retirement if they qualify. SRS officials say they've offered the program for the past four years.
