Argentina's nuclear agency CNEA faces mass layoffs and worker occupations

The State Workers' Union (ATE) occupied the headquarters of the Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA) in Buenos Aires to protest the dismissal of roughly 100 employees, a cut that reduced staff from 645 to 272. The union demanded the reinstatement of the workers and accused the Milei administration of dismantling the agency for privatization.

National Gendarmería forces expelled the occupiers after about an hour, injuring one gendarme and forcing the agency head, Martín Porro, to leave his office under escort. Similar protests occurred at the Bariloche Atomic Center, where another 70 workers faced non‑renewal of contracts, bringing total layoffs to around 170 of the 340 contracted staff.

Union leaders labeled the action a “brutal repression” and warned of legal consequences, while opposition deputies condemned the layoffs as arbitrary and harmful to Argentina’s strategic nuclear projects such as the CAREM reactor and RA‑10. The conflict has escalated into a broader political dispute over the country’s nuclear policy and labor stability.