Accoridng to lawmakers and weather experts, dozen of wealther forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were lay-off on Thursday, February 27, 2025.
Federal workers who were not fired said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do important local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country.
Cuts at NOAA appeared to be made in two stages, one of 500 and one of 800, according to Craig McLean, a former NOAA chief scientist who obtained the information from someone with firsthand knowledge. That accounts for roughly 10% of NOAA’s staff.
The first round of cuts were probationary employees, McLean said. There are about 375 probationary employees in the National Weather Service — where day-to-day forecasting and hazard warning is done.
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Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., issued a statement saying: “Today, hundreds of employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including weather forecasters at the National Weather Service (NWS), were given termination warnings for no apparent cause. This is unconscionable.
