Yesterday, hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees were fired, lawmakers and weather experts said.  Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country.

Cuts at NOAA appeared to be happening in two rounds, one of 500 and one of 800, said Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist who said he got the information from someone with first-hand knowledge. That’s about 10% of NOAA’s workforce.

The cuts, which affected hundreds of employees—including senior scientists and directors of critical climate monitoring programs—are widely seen as the first steps toward dismantling the $12 billion agency. The move comes after NOAA was singled out in the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 document, which called it “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry” and advocated for privatizing weather forecasting.

Among the 800 dismissed was Jonathan Nash, a 23-year-old marine scientist and former teacher. Nash, who had dreamed of working in marine science since childhood fishing trips with his grandparents, described the layoffs as a devastating blow not just to employees but to the country’s ability to protect its coastlines and fisheries.

“I really don’t see any better way to be a patriot than protecting our coastlines and commercial fisheries,” Nash said. “In 2018, fisheries accounted for about $5.6 billion of our economy. We’re just trying to do our best to protect resources that are running out. These things are not renewable—it’s either protect them now or regret losing them later.”

We recently posted about the Trump administration’s attack on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA.) Earlier this month, Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) reportedly barged into the headquarters of the NOAA in Silver Spring, Maryland, and the Department of Commerce in Washington DC, inciting concerns of downsizing at the agency. 

Individuals affiliated with Elon Musk’s DOGE, have reportedly been given access to several internal databases and systems at NOAA, as they search for employees and programs related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). 

NOAA has also long been a target of climate change deniers. The antipathy toward NOAA may have more to do with an opposition to climate science than with cost savings. 

Billionaire Elon Musk, who heads up DOGE, is unelected and not a government civil service employee.  Musk is the beneficiary of at least $38 billion in government contracts, far more than the yearly NOAA budget. Musk has been described as “a walking conflict of interest.”

Trump administration’s NOAA job cuts could endanger public safety, experts warn

Thanks to Roberta Weisbrod for contributing to this post.