NOAA Proposes Cutting 1,029 Staff Positions As Part of Reduction-in-Force

On March 10, 2025, the union representing national weather service employees reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would cut 1,029 positions as part of a reduction-in-force (RIF). According to reporting from The Hill, offices within NOAA were asked to cut entire agency functions, not just a portion of their staff. Around the same time that cuts were proposed across NOAA, the Trump Administration also sought to reassign NOAA staff to fill "critically understaffed" offices in the National Weather Service. The 1,029-position RIF was never formally executed, and Office of Personnel Management separation data reflects no RIF separations at NOAA in 2025. NOAA still lost approximately 2,000 employees — down from a pre-2025 workforce of roughly 12,000 — through terminations of probationary employees, voluntary separation programs, and retirements. Senator Maria Cantwell reported that NOAA had lost a combined 27,000 years of experience since January 2025 and carried more than 3,000 vacant positions, with weather balloon launches suspended and multiple Weather Forecast Offices unable to staff overnight shifts; by October 2025, there were reports that staffing shortages contributed to canceled fish stock assessments in New England, the mid-Atlantic, the Gulf, and Hawaii were also attributed to the staffing shortages.