The Trump administration has begun laying off employees at the National Maritime and Atmospheric Administration, one of the world's leading centers for climate science.
More than 800 people are expected to be costly for work, according to two people who are familiar with the situation identified for fear of retaliation, out of the total 13,000 staff members. The notification occurred Thursday afternoon.
Policy analysts at National Ocean Service, a NOAA agency office near Washington, discussed scrambling as supervisors tried desperately to help trial employees download related documents such as Pay Slips and Performance Review before they lost access to their computers.
“This loss of talent at NOAA will bring the agency back into the age and compromise the integrity of its mission to directly support human health and safety, economic prosperity and national security,” the analyst said, speaking on condition of anonymity in fear of retaliation. “This is not a move towards efficiency. It's a move towards putting Americans at risk every day.”
The shooting focuses on probation employees who have short-term jobs and lack the protection they can afford to staff who have long tenure. As with other agencies, the Trump administration appears to be firing employees who have been tried with NOAA.
NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce. In NOAA and other parts of the department, the cuts were delayed until new secretary Howard Lutnick was able to take office. However, since Rutnick was sworn in Monday, more layoffs have begun to be announced across the sector, including the International Trade Office, which promotes US exports.
Several employees were fired by the Industrial and Security Bureau to oversee US export controls, according to current and former commercial employees and others familiar with cuts.
Emma Esquibel, executive assistant to the Alaska National Weather Bureau Director, received a firing email Thursday afternoon. She received the message at 11:39am in Alaska and was given an hour and 21 minutes before losing access to the computer. The email said she “is not suitable for ongoing employment as your abilities, knowledge and/or skills do not meet the agency's current needs.”
“I'm far more qualified, but I wanted to step into the doors of NOAA,” said Esquibel, who holds a master's degree in systems engineering. She achieved a better salary position in the private sector in November because she wanted the safety of government jobs.
The shootings on Thursday are expected to be just the wave of the first departure. Hundreds of more staff are expected to leave Friday as part of the so-called postponed resignation program, according to those familiar with the matter. Additionally, the Trump administration is expected to cancel contracts for NOAA workers, which could bring as many as 2,500 employees to agents.
One man who refused to be identified because he wanted to challenge his firing, said he and the National Weather Service were fired and the probationary workers were actually considered to have worked in various NOAA offices for several years. He also said he recently got a great review in his performance review.
Those who remain will see their work becoming more difficult. The General Services Bureau, which manages government facilities, has begun canceling some of the contracts for buildings used by NOAA, according to anyone familiar with the issue. Agents have frozen credit cards used to pay for travel, and have significantly limited the amount of money employees can put those cards for other purchases.
Commerce Department employees also received guidance Thursday that all “non-mission critical” trips were cancelled immediately.
A NOAA spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The General Services Bureau also did not respond to requests for comment.
“NOAA will hamstring important lifesaving programs to predict storms, ensure ocean safety and prevent the extinction of whales and ocean otters,” said Sakagami, director of the Marine Project at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Most Americans want to protect these types of vital government services. We will do everything we can to protect them.”
NOAA was chosen by members of the Trump administration for particularly deep cuts. The policy blueprint issued by the Heritage Foundation, reflected in the many actions taken by the Trump administration so far, calls it “one of the leading drivers of the climate change warning industry.” This document encourages NOAA to be dismantled and part of its program is terminated.
Project 2025 proposed commercialization of the National Weather Service, one of the most well-known weapons in agencies that provide weather forecasting and life-saving warnings.
Among the authors of the Policy Blueprint are many who are currently playing senior roles in the Trump administration.
“I strongly believe in the mission of the National Weather Service,” Esquibel said after losing his job. “I'm worried that the mission will reduce moving forward.”
