NOAA, NASA brace for major job cuts
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The layoffs of thousands of government workers are likely to expand — possibly as soon as Tuesday — to two key climate science and extreme weather agencies: NOAA and NASA.
Why it matters: These agencies keep tabs on the planet's weather and climate and are considered to be in the top tier of such government departments worldwide.
Zoom in: In keeping with the size of cuts to other government departments, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is thought to be in line for as much as a 10% reduction in staff, which would amount to about 1,000 workers.
- NOAA is a small organization, with only about 12,000 employees spread across functions from climate and weather forecasting to oceans research and fisheries regulation.
- Deep cuts could imperil some of its work, particularly that of the National Weather Service, which has been short-staffed in recent years.
The intrigue: It's possible that NWS would receive a public safety exemption to keep their meteorologists from being on the chopping block, but that was unclear over the weekend.
- The stated mission of the Weather Service includes "the protection of life and property," but such exemptions were being granted sparingly agency by agency.
Zoom out: Billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been reviewing contracts at NASA and accessing IT systems at NOAA.
- These are two agencies where Musk has conflicts of interest given the activities of his company SpaceX.
- The firm is a major NASA contractor, and NOAA and NASA are studying the effects of frequent rocket launches as well as reentry of used satellites into Earth's upper atmosphere.
Driving the news: Layoffs across the government are already reaching other energy and environmental agencies.
- The cuts include DOE offices expanded or launched under the 2021 infrastructure law and 2022 IRA, per Axios sources and published reports on Friday.
- DOE is axing roughly 50 workers in DOE's loan programs office, a major source of finance for commercializing low-carbon tech projects that got more muscular under the IRA.
Other cuts hit the Grid Deployment Office, according to a former DOE official who requested anonymity to share details that have not been made public.
- DOE also laid off substantial numbers of staff at the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains and the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, the former official said.
Catch up quick: Agencies are losing many probationary workers — people often a year or less into the job, though time periods vary.
- EPA terminated 388 probationary workers, the agency said Friday, citing a "thorough review of agency functions in accordance with President Trump's executive orders."
Friction point: Capitol Hill Democrats are demanding info on the layoffs as they criticize the cuts but lack power to force disclosures.
- "Until such time as we are briefed on these developments, we will not know the damage to our country and the world as a result of these haphazard and thoughtless firings," Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Marcy Kaptur, both Democrats, said in a statement about DOE.
The bottom line: DOE hasn't provided comment or tallies, so this all remains vague.
