The Trump administration has begun firing employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world’s premier centers for climate science.
The firings are expected to cost more than 800 people their jobs, out of a total of about 13,000 staff members, according to two people familiar with the situation who declined to be identified for fear of retribution. The notifications went out on Thursday afternoon.
A policy analyst at the National Ocean Service, a NOAA agency office near Washington, described a scramble as supervisors frantically tried to help probationary employees download relevant documents like pay slips and performance reviews before they lost access to computers.
“This loss of talent at NOAA is going to set the agency back years and compromise the integrity of missions that directly support human health and safety, economic prosperity and national security,” the analyst said, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “This is not a move toward efficiency; it’s a move toward putting Americans in danger every day.”
The firings are focused on probationary employees, who have been in their jobs for a short period and lack the protections afforded to staff members with longer tenure. As is the case at other agencies, the Trump administration appears to be firing probationary employees at NOAA not because their work is necessarily less valuable than that of other staff members, but because they’re easier to dismiss.
NOAA is part of the Commerce Department. Cuts had been delayed at NOAA and other parts of the department until the new secretary, Howard Lutnick, could come into office. But since Mr. Lutnick was sworn in on Monday, more layoffs have started to be announced throughout the department, including at the International Trade Administration, which promotes U.S. exports.
Several employees were also fired at the Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees U.S. export controls, according to current and former Commerce employees and others familiar with the cuts.
Emma Esquivel, executive assistant to Alaska’s National Weather Service director, got her termination email on Thursday afternoon. She received the message at 11:39 a.m. Alaska time and was given an hour and 21 minutes before losing access to her computer. The email stated the she was “not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the agency’s current needs.”
“I’m way overqualified but I wanted to get my foot in the door at NOAA,” said Ms. Esquivel, who has a master’s degree in systems engineering. She took the position in November over a better-paying position in the private sector because she wanted the security of a government job.
The firings on Thursday are expected to be just the first wave of departures. Several hundred more staff members are expected to leave on Friday as part of the so-called deferred resignation program, according to a person familiar with the matter. On top of that, the Trump administration is expected to cancel contracts of workers affiliated with NOAA, which could cost the agency as many as 2,500 personnel.
One man who declined to be identified because he hopes to contest his termination said he and others who had been fired from the National Weather Service and had been considered probationary workers had in fact worked at various NOAA offices for several years. He also said he had recently gotten stellar ratings in a performance review.
Those who remain will see their jobs get more difficult. The General Services Administration, which manages government facilities, has begun canceling some of the contracts for buildings that NOAA uses, according to a person familiar with the matter. The agency has frozen credit cards used to pay for travel and sharply restricted the amount of money employees are able to put on those cards for other purchases.
Commerce Department employees also received guidance on Thursday that all “non-mission-critical” travel was canceled immediately.
A spokesman for NOAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The General Services Administration also did not respond to a request for comment.
“Gutting NOAA will hamstring essential lifesaving programs that forecast storms, ensure ocean safety and prevent the extinction of whales and sea otters,” said Miyoko Sakashita, the director of oceans projects at the Center for Biological Diversity. “I think most Americans want these kinds of vital government services protected, and we’ll do everything we can to defend them.”
NOAA has been singled out for especially deep cuts by members of the Trump administration. Project 2025, the policy blueprint published by the Heritage Foundation that is reflected in many of the actions taken by the Trump administration so far, calls the agency “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” The document urges that NOAA be dismantled and some of its programs be terminated.
Project 2025 also suggested commercializing the National Weather Service, one of the agency’s most well-known arms, which provides weather forecasts and lifesaving warnings.
Among the authors of the policy blueprint are many people who now hold senior roles in the Trump administration.
“I believe so strongly in the National Weather Service’s mission,” Ms. Esquivel said after losing her job. “I’m worried that the mission is going to get reduced moving forward.”
