Probationary employees with organizations under NOAA, including the National Weather Service, were terminated Thursday afternoon, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. That anonymous source couldn’t confirm the number of employees fired at the Norman facility.
The federal agency is the country’s authority on weather and climate research, housing decades of data. The National Weather Service issues near-constant weather updates across the U.S. NOAA is part of the Department of Commerce.
The layoffs could continue through Friday evening according to reporting from The Hill. The Guardian reported that hundreds of personnel were impacted nationwide.
The firings also potentially impact the National Severe Storms Laboratory, which is in charge of researching forecasting, weather warnings and radar technology. Other organizations working in Oklahoma include the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program, Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations and more.
StateImpact was able to contact an employee with the National Weather Service Monday morning who also could not confirm the number of people impacted by the layoffs.
“We are all on edge,” said the employee, who wishes to remain anonymous.
On Tuesday, a person with knowledge of the firings estimated that at least seven probationary employees were let go and four took a deferred resignation option or retired in response to the cuts.
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