Mass firings of hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration workers, including many in Boulder, began Thursday afternoon.
Probationary employees — meaning they had served less than 365 days in their current posts — received emails and were given an hour to empty their desks, despite a U.S. District Court judge in San Francisco ruling ordering the Office of Personnel Management to stop indiscriminate firings because they are likely illegal.
Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist who said he got information from a person with first-hand knowledge, told The Associated Press that as many as 1,300 people will be fired in two rounds, 500 Thursday and 800 on Friday. That’s about 10% of NOAA’s workforce.
Theo Stein, a NOAA spokesperson based in Boulder, declined to confirm the layoffs or say how many employees are in Colorado. “We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission,” he said in an email.
NOAA’s work includes the National Weather Service, and in Boulder researchers are focused on topics including atmospheric processes that influence air quality, weather and the availability of water. A lab there provides “the framework for all positioning activities in the nation. These include the foundational elements of latitude, longitude, elevation and shoreline information, which impact a wide range of important activities.”
The city is also home to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, which issues forecasts, warnings and alerts that help mitigate space weather impacts. It works with NASA to develop, launch, test and operate all satellites, according to NASA.
“We need to understand who at NOAA is being fired and why. Gutting NOAA without any plan weakens Colorado’s ability to respond to wildfires or track the West’s worsening drought. Science and weather services for Americans is not government waste. Firing the hardworking Coloradans who do this work with no strategy or communication is wrong,” U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colorado, said on X.
We need to understand who at NOAA is being fired and why.Gutting NOAA without any plan weakens Colorado’s ability to respond to wildfires or track the West’s worsening drought. Science and weather services for Americans is not government waste. Firing the hardworking… t.co/af1aQ9nu3y
— Senator John Hickenlooper (@SenatorHick) February 27, 2025NOAA scientists are part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, or CIRES at the University of Colorado. CIRES, created in 1967, employs about 900 people from CU and NOAA. Approximately 45% of the staff is from NOAA. According to CIRES’ 2024 annual report, the research organization had received $122 million in funding from NOAA, CU and other contracts and grants.
“There are no impacts to CIRES at this moment,” said Nicole Mueksch, a CU spokesperson.
Scientists at CIRES are involved in almost any research that touches on environmental science, including forest fires, smoke impacts, air quality, arctic weather and snowmelt.
In December, they released a report on how 2021’s Marshall fire in Boulder County had lingering impacts on the air quality of homes in the burnt area for weeks and created potential health risks.
The termination emails, sent by Vice Admiral Nancy Hann, the acting undersecretary of commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA administrator, cited each worker’s date of hire to their current job and noted the appointment was “subject to the completion of a probationary/trial period.”
The message calls probationary periods “an essential tool for agencies to assess employee performance and manage staffing levels.” “In light of that guidance, the Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and/or skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs. For these reasons, I am terminating you from the position of NOAA Federal Employee with the agency and the federal civil service effective February 27, 2025 at 5 p.m. EST,” she wrote.
Those let go because of their performance or conduct may appeal only if they allege their termination was based on partisan political reasons or marital status, according to the American Federation of Government Employees.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Mass firings of probationary federal workers begin at NOAA, including many in Boulder )
Also on site :
- Mel Owens' Ex-Wife Issues Bold Statement on His Upcoming 'Golden Bachelor' Season: 'It's Going to be Bad'
- European retailer inspired by ‘new Med’ hits major milestone opening its 50th store in the US – and 15 more are coming
- Al menos 9 personas muertas y 15 heridas por caída de un autobús a un río en México