Environment & Energy

Elon Musk’s DOGE homes in on new target: Weather forecasters
The cuts will ‘endanger American lives,’ lawmaker says

Seth Borenstein
Friday 28 February 2025 14:22 GMT

Hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees, including weather forecasters, have had their jobs terminated, according to lawmakers and weather experts.

Remaining federal workers reported that the layoffs included meteorologists vital to local forecasting at National Weather Service offices nationwide.

Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist, said that the cuts occurred in two phases, one of 500 and another of 800, based on information from a source with direct knowledge.

This accounts for approximately 10 per cent of NOAA’s total workforce.

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NWS to rehire workers after deep DOGE cuts
NOAA and the NWS weren't immune to the DOGE cuts of the second Trump administration's early months, which included the firing, rehiring and refiring of some workers.

Aug. 7, 2025, 5:21 PM EDT
By Chase Cain

The Trump administration is planning to undo most of the cuts to the National Weather Service put in place earlier this year by the Department of Government Efficiency.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has received permission to fill 450 positions at the National Weather Service, roles that will include meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians, according to Reps. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., and Mike Flood, R-Neb.

The move to rehire for those positions, which was first reported by CNN, comes after a summer of deadly, extreme weather that put cuts to NWS under particular scrutiny, with many politicians in both parties pushing to undo the cuts.

One government official told NBC News that NWS staff believe the Texas floods that killed more than 130 people and sparked questions about NWS forecasts strengthened the case for the agency to rehire hundreds of “front-line and mission critical” staff. This official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel matters.

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Changes loom for National Weather Service as union official warns of potential staff cuts

Comments:
BY RACHEL FRAZIN - 04/22/26 6:02 PM ET

The Trump administration is reorganizing the National Weather Service (NWS) and making changes to forecasting, while a key union representative warns the reorganization could involve potential staff cuts.

Federal employees at the NWS’s Weather Forecast Offices, which provide people with local forecasts and severe weather warnings, have learned about impending changes to their baseline staffing levels as part of the transformation coming to the weather service, said Tom Fahy, legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization (NWSEO).

While the administration acknowledged that it is undergoing a reorganization, it denies that the weather service faces staff cuts.

“There are no staff cuts planned at NWS. In fact, we are hiring,” NWS spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said in an email.

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