Fukushima operators to remove nuclear fuel rods Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), the operators of the plant, have emphasised that despite the acknowledged risks, every step has been taken to ensure adequate safety procedures are in place. The utility, which has been widely criticised over its handling of the post-disaster clean-up, was scheduled to begin the mission earlier this month but it was delayed after the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organisation insisted on further safety checks. The Fukushima plant was severely damaged after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, triggered a reactor meltdown and the world's worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Operators of the plant have since received huge injections of public funding to assist with the clean-up, with the challenging task of decommissioning forecast to last for decades. News of the fuel rod mission commencing coincided with reports that Tepco was planning to slash more than 1,000 jobs through voluntary retirement as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline the company, according to the business daily Nikkei. The company, which has already reduced its workforce by 3,600 to 36,000 under an earlier business plan approved last year, is in the midst of a raft of cost-cutting efforts following extensive criticism of its handling of the disaster.