Hundreds of NOAA Weather Forecasters Axed in Latest ‘Unconscionable’ Round of DOGE Job Cuts
Kris Tripplaar/AP photo
It’s rough skies ahead for these federal employees targeted in a new storm of job cuts at the hands of Elon Musk.
Hundreds of weather forecasters and other employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were among those axed by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), climate experts and lawmakers told the Associated Press Thursday night.
The dismissals came down in two rounds, with the first largely consisting of NOAA’s 375 probationary workers, former NOAA scientist Craig McLean told the AP. The second included 800 more workers.
All told, about 10 percent of the agency’s workforce was let go, McLean said.
Among the firings were those tasked with providing important weather reports and information on hurricanes and other severe storms, the AP reported.
“Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination notices for no good reason,” Rep. Grace Meng (D-NY) said in a statement after the firings. “This is unconscionable.”
Meng added that the startling terminations “will only endanger American lives going forward.”
Climate scientist Dr. Daniel Swain, who works at the University of California, Los Angeles, went a step further, warning that the job cuts could prove deadly.
“If there were to be large staffing reductions at NOAA and NWS—at appears is now indeed underway, with credible reports of larger further cuts on horizon—there will be people who die in extreme weather events & related disasters who would not have otherwise,” Dr. Swain said in an X post.
To be clear: If there were to be large staffing reductions at NOAA and NWS—at appears is now indeed underway, with credible reports of larger further cuts on horizon—there will be people who die in extreme weather events & related disasters who would not have otherwise.
10/11— Dr. Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) February 28, 2025
These new federal cuts have come as the Trump administration slashes countless jobs across multiple federal branches, including hundreds at the FAA, which has been beleaguered by a spate of recent crashes and runway mishaps.
On Thursday, Musk took to X to beg retired aviation employees to return to their jobs, saying, “There is a shortage of top notch air traffic controllers. If you have retired, but are open to returning to work, please consider doing so.”
