Argentina unveils US$1.2-billion nuclear reactor plan amid CNEA lay-offs row

President Javier MIlei’s government announced on Tuesday the construction of a new nuclear reactor in Buenos Aires with US$1.2 billion in private investment, at a time when the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) is facing a labour dispute over lay-offs denounced by its workers.

The US-Argentine company Meitner Energy "will invest US$1.2 billion in the construction of a 300-megawatt modular nuclear reactor at the Atucha site" north of Buenos Aires, Presidential Spokesperson Adrián Ravier said at a press conference.

This is the "first nuclear reactor financed 100 percent by private capital," added Ravier, referring to a project he estimated would create 2,000 jobs.

CNEA president Martín Porro dismissed 61 workers a week ago who "were performing mainly administrative duties," a decision that has triggered protests outside the institution's headquarters ever since.

The ATE state workers' association says that some 100 of CNEA's roughly 3,000 employees have been dismissed, and that two managers resigned in the past week.

The union called a strike and march for Wednesday and said further protests would be held at CNEA offices around the country.

ATE general secretary Rodolfo Aguiar said the union held the Casa Rosada "responsible for the escalation of the conflict," warning that if the government pursued "renewed repression, it will be solely to blame for anything regrettable that occurs." 

He also disputed the rationale for the cuts, arguing that CNEA "does not generate losses" and is, on the contrary, "in surplus" – meaning, he said, there was "no valid argument" to justify them. 

The dispute stems from the severe adjustment programme pursued by President Milei across almost every area of government, including the nuclear sector. 

Since he took office in December 2023, CNEA's budget has been cut by 58 percent, according to a calculation by fact-checking outlet Chequeado based on government data.

Argentina has three nuclear power plants in operation – Atucha I, Atucha II and Embalse – which together account for around eight percent of the nation's electricity generation.

It is one of three Latin American countries, along with Brazil and Mexico, to have the technology.

– TIMES/AFP/NA