Published on February 28, 2025

NOAA's Job Cuts Threaten Essential Climate Services

layoffs

Lacey Kaelani

@laceykaelani

TL;DR intro

Trump administration mandates job cut impacting over 880 NOAA employees.
NOAA, responsible for crucial weather and climate forecasting, faces operational challenges.
Job cuts part of a federal effort to reduce spending, impacting vital services.

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NOAA's Big Umbrella

To understand what NOAA does, let's break it down: Weather, Oceans, and Atmospheric predictions—combined with a side of charting and conserving. This agency is responsible for a plethora of activities: from hurricane warnings and coastal mapping to fishery management and solar storm tracking. Sure, it sounds like NOAA’s employees have superhuman skills; indeed, their historical roots run coast-deep, thanks to pioneers like the Survey of the Coast initiated by Thomas Jefferson back in 1807.

But wait, there's more! NOAA carries a legacy surpassing its own name—predating it by nearly a century—through agencies like the National Weather Service and the National Geodetic Survey. The weather service, after all, is the hotline that keeps Americans informed about the skies above their heads, with 122 forecast offices scattered from sea to shining sea (and Puerto Rico and Guam, too!).

Keep an eye out for those NOAA pilots zooming into storms or the satellites circling the globe; they're working overtime to ensure the environment is as healthy as your Twitter feed.

For the U.S. and the world watching, the cuts are more than just numbers; they're a colder (and less predictable) climate.

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NOAA Cuts: A Storm is Brewing

When it rains, it pours—or at least that's the feeling at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) right now. The agency, which is no stranger to tracking storms, is weathering its own tempest as more than 880 employees received their walking papers this week. As if Mother Nature wasn't enough to juggle, they're dealing with some nature vs. bureaucracy issues too.

Sink or Swim for NOAA?

NOAA, home to your favorite weathermen and women, is not just about wearing flashy raincoats on TV. Founded in 1970, this agency is the unsung hero behind your morning weather updates, tornado warnings, and even the reason you might have seafood at dinner. That said, the Trump administration has insisted on a 7.3% cut of NOAA's workforce—amounting to $300 billion saved in annual federal wage costs. But this isn't about pinching pennies—it's about sweeping responsibilities.

According to NOAA's former folks, another round of job cuts looms large, threatening over 1,000 more positions. Meanwhile, Jeff Watters from the Ocean Conservancy warns that the layoffs will undercut NOAA's essential functions, likening it to pulling out Jenga blocks from a precariously balanced structure.