The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has dismissed around 800 employees, with additional layoffs anticipated by the end of the week, according to sources familiar with the situation. The move is part of broader efforts by the Trump administration to reduce the size of government agencies.
Sources indicate that further cuts could come as early as Friday, potentially bringing the total number of affected employees to over 1,000. The layoffs impact multiple divisions within NOAA, which employs experts in weather, climate, oceans, biodiversity, and environmental research.
Probationary Employees Targeted
An insider at the National Weather Service (NWS) said that probationary workers—those with less than a year of service—were let go on Thursday; NOAA employs between 350 and 375 probationary employees, but it is yet unknown how many were directly impacted. Some critical positions, such as disaster forecasting for hurricanes and severe thunderstorms, may have been spared from the cuts.
Concerns Over National Weather Service Capabilities
A meteorologist at NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in Maryland described the cuts as a severe blow to the agency, which has long struggled with understaffing. Critics warn that reducing NOAA’s workforce at a time of increasing extreme weather events could undermine the nation’s ability to predict hurricanes, tornadoes, and other life-threatening disasters.
The National Weather Service, whose mission is to “protect lives and property,” is facing pressure from these terminations. The agency’s workers’ union has been actively reaching out to affected employees and exploring legal options.
Lack of Transparency in Termination Process
A source close to NOAA noted that the termination process was carried out in a manner that minimized paper trails, leaving employees to learn about dismissals through word of mouth. People who were impacted were told in letters that their “ability, knowledge, and/or skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs.”
Some employees, including those from other government agencies that had already lost workers, were apparently told they were being fired because they weren’t doing a good job, even though they had good reviews.
What it means for research and predictions
Andrew Hazelton, a scientist with a Ph.D. in the field, is one of the workers who will be impacted. Hazelton, who worked on making storm prediction models better, posted on social media that he was being fired. His work helped the National Hurricane Center get better at tracking and predicting storms.
Other units that were affected are the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and NOAA’s weather modeling unit, where experts make advanced models for projecting the weather. Zachary Labe, a scientist who worked on adding AI and machine learning to NOAA’s weather predicting tools, was also fired.
Fears for NOAA’s Future
The layoffs are in line with Project 2025, a conservative policy plan that calls for NOAA funds to be cut by a lot. At the same time, other world powers, like China, are putting more money into climate research.
NOAA already has a hard time finding enough staff, and these new cuts could make it much harder for them to give accurate and fast weather forecasts. This could put lives and property at risk as climate-related events happen more often.
