The Donald Trump administration has fired hundreds of employees at Noaa – a prominent US climate research agency. On Thursday afternoon, the commerce department sent emails to employees impacted by the changes.
Other federal agencies are also seeing huge staffing cuts in recent years. The latest restructuring efforts at Noaa is getting many experts concerned as climate change continues to push temperatures into uncharted territories and trigger serious natural disasters.
The firings specifically affected probationary employees, a categorisation that applies to fresh hires or those promoted or shifted into different positions. These employees make up roughly 10% of the agency’s staff size, reported the Guardian.
One anonymous employee said: “These indiscriminate cuts are cruel and thoughtless.” One other employee raised concerns about Noaa losing decades of expertise as many of the laid off people had been part of the agency for a long time.
