WISCASSET — As Maine Yankee prepares for decommissioning, at least 155 employees plan to take advantage of early retirement or severance packages — averting layoffs at the plant for now.

So far, 117 employees have asked for an early severance package and another 38 have signed up for early retirement. An additional 60 employees are eligible for early retirement and may still sign up before the Oct. 9 deadline, plant spokeswoman Maureen Brown said Friday.

Based on the requests so far, Brown said, it is highly unlikely that Maine Yankee will lay off any employees to meet its goal of cutting the work force by slightly more than one-third by October.

However, Maine Yankee expects further staff reduction as the plant moves forward with decommissioning. The plant had 466 full-time employees — excluding security and contract workers — when owners voted last month to permanently close the plant. That total will be cut by more than half by early February, Brown said.

The 10 New England utilities that run Maine Yankee decided last month to permanently close the plant, capping two years of operations plagued by maintenance and safety problems.