The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cut about 5% of its staff today as the Trump administration continues its effort to slim the federal workforce.
Francis Tarasiewicz, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Rhode Island, said he received a “pre-canned” email this afternoon notifying him he’d been terminated and saying his performance hadn’t lived up to expectations.
“The hardest part for me is it’s my first month at the weather service and I had a meeting with my supervisor today, and he just told me how good I was doing,” Tarasiewicz said, adding that it took about six months to get hired. “To actually see it on an email and that I was fired for poor performance an hour after I’d been told the complete opposite was baffling and frustrating.”
Tarasiewicz said he’d started work at 5:30 a.m. and had worked on four to seven forecasts and airport forecasts, collected meteorological reports across the Northeast and briefed emergency management officials about weather conditions.
“I’m going to be soul-searching quite a bit,” Tarasiewicz said, adding that he enjoyed his job and colleagues.
A NOAA press officer said the agency would not comment on the layoffs.
“Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters. NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience,” wrote Susan Buchanan, a National Weather Service public affairs officer. “We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission.”
An administration official said that about 5% of the staff had been let go and that the administration had conducted an “extensive process” to ensure “mission critical functions” weren’t compromised.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the firings would leave the nation less prepared for extreme weather.
“The firings jeopardize our ability to forecast and respond to extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods—putting communities in harm’s way. They also threaten our maritime commerce and endanger 1.7 million jobs that depend on commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries, including thousands in the State of Washington,” Cantwell said in a news release.
