CHANGE IS COMING: DOE "BUYOUTS" AND LAYOFFS AT HQ AND IN THE FIELD
The Trump Administration began its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort to cut government funding last week, with a series of layoffs in almost all government agencies, including EM, NE, NNSA, Office of Science and other DOE offices. Many employees accepted the government’s deferred resignation “buyout” offer, which would provide workers’ pay through September if they resign. ECA has been notified, as previously reported, that these are senior managers at HQ and in the site offices.
The following cuts have already been made:
2,000 DOE staffers were laid off on Thursday, said Randy Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees.
Between 300 and 400 NNSA (NNSA oversees US nuclear weapons production and non-proliferation programs) workers were terminated at HQ and the site offices before some subset were reinstated. The agency’s quick reversal was announced Friday in an all-staff meeting. The NNSA is seeking to recall the workers because they deal with sensitive national security secrets.
DOE’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations lost roughly 25% of its staff, according to Bloomberg News. That office received some $27 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the bipartisan infrastructure law, to finance, among other initiatives, advanced nuclear projects.
The National Park Service (NPS) fired 1,000 full-time staff Friday but said seasonal hiring is resuming, exempting 5,000 seasonal jobs from the hiring freeze. As reported by Politico, Representative Mike Simpson (ID-2), who represents the district home to Idaho Falls, Butte County, and several National Park Service sites, stated that his staff is talking to the administration about how an OMB-directed, government-wide hiring freeze will affect the NPS.
More than 200,000 employees, or nearly 10% of the civilian federal workforce, have been on the job for a year (12 months) or less, according to Office of Personnel Management data.
Impacts are already being felt at the site and regional level. Senator Patty Murray (WA) commented on several layoffs at the Hanford site and in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend:
At the Hanford Site, over a dozen people were laid off. These include safety engineers, environmental scientists, and others critical to the Hanford cleanup mission and the safety of the workers employed here.
At least 30 federal workers at the Hanford site accepted the buyout offer, the Tri-City Herald reported.
The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) will lose more than 600 workers. The BPA is the biggest electricity supplier in the Pacific Northwest.
ECA will keep you updated on what developments affect, and how they will impact, DOE programs and offices.