I’m not sure why anyone thinks NOAA is mandating these cuts to either positions or services.
NONE of the recent terminations were in any way made with NOAA or Department of Commerce input. They were MANDATED by the Administration.
First, ALL federal civilian workers were offered the “fork in the road” (the same term Musk used in emails when we let go of Twitter personnel). It was a cryptic email announcement that many workers thought was a scam given there was no warning and the proposal was unprecedented and unfunded with an arbitrary short notice deadline to respond. Workers could leave and get paid for 7 months NOT to work. Imagine that, 7 months salary and benefits to do ZERO work, and they are even allowed to go get another job to “double dip” throughout that period. To date anyone who took this option has now received over two months of salary at taxpayer expense with 5 more to come while doing absolutely NOTHING. No “tax and spend” Democrat has EVER been so wild as to suggest offering Federal workers 7 months pay and benefits with ZERO work performed. Imagine if Obama or Biden had given Federal workers 7 months of pay for zero work! This was not a NOAA decision, but was across the entire Federal Government for ALL Federal civilians.
Then all probationary Federal workers were let go. That is anyone who had been hired in the last year immediately lost their job. This in no way allowed the agency to prioritize or preserve important positions or critical services, or reallocate or ramp down services as the firings were immediate and without warning. The individuals were let go via email notification that didn’t even include their supervisors. Fired employees had to turn around and inform their own bosses at NOAA when they had been fired as their supervisors were otherwise not informed. Ironically even some long term employees were fired if they had happened to ascend to a new position within the last year. In those cases some of the best performers who were the most experienced and productive subject matter experts who had been given deserved promotions were suddenly given their walking papers.
At the same time a hiring freeze was instituted across the entire Federal Government, meaning NOAA could not backfill ANY existing or new vacancies, including those deemed most critical. Nor were they allowed to transfer ANY employees within the Agency to fill these critical roles.
The subsequent offering of programs like Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP) also caused significant departures across the Agency, often of the longest serving and most knowledgeable personnel, all while there is a still ongoing hiring freeze with no ability to backfill vacancies or bring in new people to be trained prior to senior people with knowledge and skills leaving, so things only continue to get worse. The increased workload for those that remain further incentivizes leaving rather than staying and severely degrades the level of service being provided, given that people are now and for an unknown timeframe going forward, tasked with doing the work of multiple positions, this may even include duties they are unfamiliar with or even unqualified for. The more attrition, the harder it is on those that remain, and the more likely they too will choose to leave. None of this is a NOAA decision or a NOAA specific directive.
Finally this week the National Weather Service, but no other NOAA Line Office, has at last been granted the ability to transfer personnel within the Agency ONLY, to potentially fill the most critical positions (which then creates new vacancies). However, there is still no outside hiring allowed by any NOAA Line Office in spite of the increasing needs. This has NOT been NOAA’s choice or an effort to play victim. This is the administration’s policy and it is similar across Federal Agencies.
I’m sure NOAA would love to hire qualified personnel to fill its most critical vacancies and help restore and ensure the most critical public services, but it is NOT allowed. THIS IS NOT NOAA’S FAULT. This is the current administration willfully impeding a taxpayer funded public agency from executing a mission that directly impacts public safety, as well as the safety of mariners and ships. NOAA has applied for exemptions to the hiring freeze and some of those have been approved all the way to the Secretary of Commerce, only to then be DENIED by The US Office of Personnel Management.
So in summary NONE of these decisions are being made by NOAA. All of these decisions and directives ARE being made by this administration.
