Fermilab job cuts averted

The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory avoided additional layoffs and unpaid furloughs for employees with the signing of a bill by President Bush that granted the facility emergency funding.

Bush on Monday signed a supplemental funding bill that includes $400 million for science this year, including $62.5 million to the Department of Energy's Office of Science. It specifically mentions programs that were cut at Fermilab. However, it is not clear how much of the funds the Batavia facility will receive.

Argonne National Laboratory will also receive funds, although officials at the facility in Lemont say they're unsure what the laboratory will get.

In December, after being informed of a $52 million budget cut, officials of Fermilab announced it would stop research and development of a proposed 20-mile-long underground accelerator that would be the world's most powerful particle accelerator.