BWXT Puts $714.5 Million Into Its Jonesborough Uranium Metal Plant, Adding 181 Jobs

ON THE RADAR

JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. — BWXT will invest $714.5 million and create 181 new jobs at its Jonesborough operation in Washington County, where it makes high purity depleted uranium metal for the federal government, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced Nov. 6.

The site produces high purity depleted uranium (HPDU) metal for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. In September 2025, NNSA awarded BWXT a 10-year contract valued at $1.6 billion to build an HPDU plant at Jonesborough, and the state says that once complete, the facility will be the only active site able to perform the process for the government. The release says the hiring will more than double BWXT's current local workforce. It gives no site-selection reasoning beyond the existing plant and the federal contract; Jeff Messaros, general manager of BWXT Ordnance Tennessee, credited a state economic development grant.

Location Decision analysis: This is a federal procurement decision more than a competitive site search. The contract tied the work to Jonesborough before the state announcement, so the state money here helps BWXT staff and build a plant the government has already placed. The state presents the project as the 12th under its Nuclear Energy Fund, and BWXT's third; lawmakers have put $95 million into that fund since 2023. The release does not say how large BWXT's grant is.

The money per job sets this project apart from BWXT's other Tennessee announcements in the same release. Erwin (2025) was $122 million for 198 jobs, about $616,000 per job. Oak Ridge (2025) was $45 million for 60 jobs, $750,000 per job. Jonesborough is $714.5 million for 181 jobs, about $3.95 million per job. Those are announced figures, not spending, and the projects differ in scope. Still, the gap suggests most of the Jonesborough money goes into process equipment and buildings rather than headcount. The workforce question is narrower than the dollar figure suggests: 181 people trained to handle uranium metal production, in a county where BWXT already employs fewer than that.

The size of the state grant, which the release does not state. A construction schedule for the HPDU plant: neither the state nor the company gave a start or completion date, so "181 new jobs" is a commitment, not a hiring timeline. Whether TVA and local utility BrightRidge, both quoted in the release, have power or site work tied to the expansion. And how the $714.5 million relates to the $1.6 billion NNSA contract, which the release describes as a separate award.

Upper Cumberland Business Journal, Nov. 6, 2026: $714 Million Investment: Nuclear Technology Company Prepares For Major TN Expansion

BWXT media relations: John Dobken, senior manager, media and public relations, (202) 428-6913, [email protected]. TNECD: Chris O'Brien, public information officer, (615) 934-5879, [email protected]. Both listed in the TNECD release, checked Nov. 7, 2026. These are media contacts, not hiring or supplier contacts.