The retention problem at most of the sites is not really a money solvable problem IMO. Like, Livermore - you're competing with SF tech wealth. High bar to clear. LANL- the entire housing market on the mesa is LANLers so if you pay more you just drive costs up more. Pantex, who wants to live there?

March 22, 2026 - 05:53 UTC

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Location matters more than paycheck sometimes.
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The point of the money is to enable conspicuous non housing consumption??

That said I did just quit my job working in a related area
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No amount of pay solves the reality that a lot of these places kinda just suck to live if you are single or don't have kids.
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Okay yeah I do see your point. My view is that a lot of the reason early career staff leave LANL/LLNL is the housing costs specifically. If your pay goes up but the portion of your paycheck that is housing also goes up, it doesn't feel like a gain.
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Y-12 pay is okay, people mostly leave because they don't like the Y-12 management and PA mindset.
Kansas City and Savannah River are the only ones that I think really stand a chance of fixing it with pay.
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