Los Alamos National Laboratory. Courtesy/LANL
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
It’s no secret that Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is the biggest employer in the region and one of the largest economic drivers. LANL is an all-around juggernaut; it provides salaries, investment in communities and businesses, and promotes the area on a nation-wide and world-wide scale.
Community Partnerships Office Director Kathy Keith touched on the various ways LANL has affected the region.
Keith reported that this year, LANL paid $1.5 billion in salaries. In turn, those salaries “flowed into Northern New Mexico communities,” she said.
She further pointed out that salaries increased by $23 million from last year; laboratory hiring also increased. Last year lab workforce rose from 12,900 to 14,054 employees, Keith said. This year, the expectation is that another 2,000 employees will be hired. These employees come from Taos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Sandoval, Mora, San Miguel and Los Alamos counties.
“We can tell you that 61.2 percent of our new hires in 2022 were from New Mexico,” Keith said. “A little more than 5,000 live in Los Alamos.”
“We are a large regional employer and more of our employees commute to Los Alamos than live in Los Alamos,” she added. “That balance has changed for us over the years.”
Just how many of those employees stay at the lab? Keith said that its attrition rates have grown but are on par with elsewhere in the country. Toward the end of last year the rates had gone down, she said. She credited retirements and decisions to change careers as the main reasons for employees leaving the lab.
Employment is just one area in which the laboratory affects the region. Keith said LANL also is a big spender.
In FY2022, the laboratory bought $915 million in goods and services from New Mexico businesses. This was a big increase; she pointed out that in FY2021, the laboratory spent a little more than $500 million.
“It’s good for our local economy,” she said. “We want to support our businesses around us and create healthy communities.”
LANL does more than just spend money at New Mexico businesses, Keith said. She pointed out that it also works to nurture them.
One way the laboratory does this is through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance (NMSBA) program. Keith said the laboratory, along with Sandia National Laboratories, provides technical assistance to 291 New Mexico small businesses. This increased from 100 businesses last year, she said.
One business that has participated in this program is Santa Fe-based Mesa Photonics. Keith said the business is developing a laser system for addressing respiratory diseases. The laboratory has assisted Mesa Photonics to test their product, which is important for receiving funding.
“We help them determine that their technology is viable and that it works,” she said. “They were able to secure their next round of funding.”
This is the first time the laboratory has assisted Mesa Photonics but Keith said LANL has worked with businesses through this program for decades. The program is beneficial to both parties – the businesses and the laboratory because Keith pointed out that the state offers the laboratory tax credits for helping and working with small business for their technical needs.
She further noted that while the laboratory assists small businesses, it also works to help communities.
“We do try very hard to have a culture at the laboratory where we give back to our communities in Northern New Mexico and our employees are very generous,” Keith said.
For instance, Keith said Triad National Security, the management and operating contractor of Los Alamos National Laboratory, matches donations employees make to various organizations. She explained Triad gives .50 cents on the dollar. Its donations have had significant effects, for example, Keith said last year LANL was honored by The Food Depot as one of its lifetime giver award recipients. The depot serves the Northern New Mexico region.
“We are proud of that, especially at a time where food shortage is such a big issue,” Keith said. “We also encourage volunteering among our employees. We have employees who love giving their time, especially in STEM, in classrooms, as mentors, judges at science fairs, or giving presentations and or hands-on exhibits. We also have employees that do a broad range work to coordinate with organizations throughout the year.”
For instance, LANL collaborated with New Mexico Ramp Project to build ramps on homes to make them accessible for individuals, Keith said. She explained teams were organized to go out and construct ramps at people’s homes.
Additionally, “We have a long time relationship with United Way of Northern New Mexico, who does some beautiful work in Los Alamos and Rio Arriba Counties on mental health and behavioral health issues that are important to all our communities,” Keith said.
The lab’s relationship with United Way extends all the way back to the 1950s, she added.
“The United Way of Northern New Mexico and Los Alamos National Laboratory have been partners in Community Giving for decades,” United Way of Northern New Mexico Board President Member Liddie Martinez said. “While some adjustments have been made over time to have better alignment with the Prime Contractor as they have changed, overall, our collaboration makes it possible to support dozens of community serving nonprofits across the region. Our partnership not only strengthens our fundraising efforts for the Community Action Fund but also allows us to deliver quality programing including training opportunities to develop and embrace collaboration among nonprofit organizations, leverage resources, share best practices and fine tune delivery systems to promote healthy and sustainable organizations.”
Whether helping New Mexico Ramp Project, United Way of Northern New Mexico, or other organizations, LANL workers made a big difference last year, Keith said.
“Last year, our employees provided 2,300 service hours to nonprofits and educational organizations,” she said.
The lab also has a long time partnership with the LANL Foundation on scholarship funds for Northern New Mexico students. Last year employees gave $384,000 to the foundation, in addition to Triad’s donation, Keith said.
“The scholarship funds are an example of the power of communities and what they can achieve,” she said.
“It’s the power of we,” Keith said. “We are proud that our employees funded the fund … and we have seen that grow and change over the years.”
LANL also offers scholarships for four-year undergraduate students in the seven county region, she added. There also is the career pathways scholarship that is awarded to those pursuing an associate degree or a certificate in a field or trade.
“As we make investments in communities, our communities are better places to live,” Keith said, “and people are what it is about. We want them to be happy and thriving … to have good education systems and have the opportunity to come to work at LANL … we all need good things and good local businesses.”
While LANL strives to provide to the communities in the region, it also relies on those communities for several things, Keith said.
A key issue right now is housing, she said.
“We hired almost 2,000 employees and we anticipate hiring 2,000 this year. We need to make sure housing is ample…,” Keith said.
The second key issue is childcare. There is a nationwide shortage of childcare and it’s an issue that needs to be addressed, she said. Finally, there needs to be educational opportunities for LANL’s future workforce.
Keith said the laboratory relies on local colleges for its workforce.