Mass Firings Hit NOAA

The Trump administration brought its chainsaw to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Thursday, reportedly firing 800 employees in a single day. Several hundred more will be out Friday as part of the administration's deferred resignation program, reports the New York Times. The administration is also expected to cancel contracts of NOAA-affiliated workers, meaning the agency could lose "as many as 2,500 personnel," per the outlet. Thursday's layoffs affected most divisions of the weather, climate, and environmental agency, per CNN, and particularly probationary employees, including people in new positions who'd been with the agency for years. The firings also may have been illegal, according to a Thursday court ruling.

The cuts had been expected: Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint the Trump administration appears to be following, calls for the dismantling of NOAA, "one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry," per the Times. But as NOAA falls under the Commerce Department, firings were delayed until the new secretary, Howard Lutnick, took up his post. He was sworn in Monday. Terminated workers received a letter Thursday stating, "the Agency finds you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the Agency's current needs," and lost computer access soon after, per CNN.

"This is not a move toward efficiency; it's a move toward putting Americans in danger every day," a policy analyst at NOAA's National Ocean Service tells the Times, arguing it will "compromise the integrity of missions that directly support human health and safety, economic prosperity and national security." Miyoko Sakashita, director of oceans projects at the Center for Biological Diversity, said "gutting NOAA will hamstring essential lifesaving programs that forecast storms, ensure ocean safety and prevent the extinction of whales and sea otters." There are around 350 probationary employees at the National Weather Service, which is already considered understaffed, per CNN. One fired employee, who holds a PhD in meteorology, says his role was to evaluate hurricane forecasts and improve tracking. (More NOAA stories.)