National Weather Service to rehire hundreds of positions after DOGE cuts
The National Weather Service (NWS) is set to rehire hundreds of positions following important staff cuts made during the Trump administration’s department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The rehiring includes 126 critical front-line roles, with approval to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists, and radar technicians. previously, DOGE-related layoffs and voluntary early retirements reduced NWS staff by more than 550 employees, leading to fewer than 4,000 total personnel, causing some office closures and reduced operations. Although the new hiring efforts will help, they won’t fully replace all lost workers.These cuts have raised concerns about the NWS’s preparedness for hurricane season and other severe weather events, especially given ongoing leadership vacancies at important regional offices like Houston. Similar reductions have also affected the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with FEMA reporting readiness challenges ahead of hurricane season due to workforce losses, coordination issues, and low morale.
National Weather Service to rehire hundreds of positions after DOGE cuts
The National Weather Service will rehire hundreds of positions months after they were eliminated by the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency.
The new hiring target will include 126 new “front-line mission critical” roles, according to CNN, which first reported the hirings. The NWS has been approved to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists, and radar technicians.
The agency was hit hard by DOGE firings and employees taking the “fork in the road” early retirement option. As a result, more than 550 people, including probationary employees and those who took early retirement, left or were forced out of the agency. At one point, there were fewer than 4,000 employees.
Staffing shortages at the NWS led to multiple offices closing and limited operations.
However, these hirings will not make up for all the lost personnel.
Cuts to the agency have raised concerns that it is not prepared for hurricane season or other major weather events. Staff reductions have also been criticized in the wake of the deadly flooding in central Texas earlier this year. The NWS office in Houston, which is vulnerable to extreme flooding and hurricanes, remains without its top three leadership positions.
The Trump administration has additionally proposed cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s budget by 20%. Hundreds of jobs have been eliminated there as well.
FEDERAL WORKERS WARN OF SAFETY THREAT AFTER NOAA LAYOFFS: ‘PERFECT STORM’
Additionally, around 10% of the Federal Emergency Management Agency workforce has left since January.
An internal FEMA review in May found that the agency was “not ready” for the start of hurricane season in June due to uncertainty about its future, lack of coordination with states and other federal agencies, and low morale among officials.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
