Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Maritime and Atmospheric Administration employees were fired Thursday, lawmakers and weather experts said.
A non-letting federal worker said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists making key local forecasts at the National Weather Service across the country.
The cut at NOAA appeared to be happening in the second round, one out of 500 and one out of 800.
This is about 10% of NOAA's workforce.
The first round of the cut was a probation employee, McLean said. The National Weather Service has approximately 375 probation employees. Here we provide daily predictions and hazard warnings.
The firing has reduced federal workers, what President Donald Trump called bloated and sloppy, amid efforts by billionaire Elon Musk and his government's efficiency.
Thousands of probation employees across the government have already been fired.
Rep. Grace Meng, Dn.Y., said: “Today, hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees, including the National Weather Service (NWS), have been given notices of fire without a valid reason. This is merciless.”
Meng added: This action only puts America's life in the future at risk. ”
Rep. Jared Huffman, a California Democrat who is a ranking minority member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said “hundreds of NOAA scientists and experts” have been let go.
Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said on social media that his job is “wonderfully myopic and ultimately deals with climate-related disasters that will seriously hurt American public safety and resilience to the American economy.”
