According to Senator Maria Cantwell’s office and union representatives, Seattle’s National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration scientists and other Seattle employees are one of an estimated 880 agent staff fired across the US on Thursday.
NOAA employs approximately 12,000 people. More than 700 of them are based in Washington, according to Senator Patty Murray’s office. Among other offices, he is employed by NOAA Fisheries and the National Weather Service in Seattle.
The extent of the cut here is unknown. NOAA officials have refused to respond to requests to detail the size of the layoffs. And on Thursday a federal judge in San Francisco found that recent mass shootings of federal probation employees from the Department of Personnel Management were likely to be illegal. It is unclear how that ruling will affect Thursday’s firing.
Murray and Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, were among the critics of Noah’s Cut, saying their effects would be far-reaching.
“Fires risk our ability to predict and respond to extreme weather events such as hurricanes, wildfires, and floods. “They are also threatening our maritime commerce and endangering the employment of 1.7 million people who rely on commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries, including thousands of Washington.”
Cantwell added: “The reductions will be a “direct hit” for the economy as NOAA’s specialized workforce provides products and services that support more than a third of the country’s GDP.
Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk are pretty much targeting federal layoff probation workers, including recent recruits and recent promoted people. Federal workers from agencies serving the Pacific Northwest, from the Forest Service to the Environmental Protection Agency, were let go in February.
NOAA was a specific target for Project 2025, the second Trump administration’s conservative blueprint. The documentation contained a call to “Disbanding Noah.” It criticizes the agency as “one of the main drivers of the climate change warning industry.”
The Response and Repair Office, which is responsible for emergency response, including the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon Spills, has lost one of two employees responsible for information security.
Seattle-based Gary Petersen was fired by email Thursday afternoon. He worked again as an agency contractor in 2021 from 2013 to 2018, before being hired last year.
An email notifying you of your firing from Petersen and at least two other NOAAs said: “Your abilities, knowledge and/or skills are not suitable for continued employment as they do not meet the agency’s current needs.” The email was signed by NOAA officials.
If staff members are spilling oil or other dangerous waste, Petersen will make sure the computer is safe.
There is only one federal employee left for the response and the information security of the Repair Office, Petersen said he cannot manage all the work needed.
The Seattle NOAA office also includes the emergency response department. The department also lost one Houston-based person, said Carl Childs, chairman of the chapter on the Emergency Response Division of the International Federation of Specialist Engineers. These are children called “one of the experts in the world of petroleum toxicology.”
It is unclear whether the shooting affected Seattle’s National Weather Service.
“With each practice over the years, we have not discussed internal personnel and management issues. NOAA is dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research and resources that serve the American people and ensure our country’s environmental and economic resilience,” weather services spokesperson Susan Buchanan said in an email.
The NOAA project in Seattle includes extensive marine research. Scientists will help manage ground fish and salmon fish and salmon fisheries in the West Coast and Alaska, and provide research to inform the protection and recovery of endangered species, such as southern residents killer whales. Scientists see how ecosystem changes and fisheries management change affect fisheries-dependent communities on the West Coast.
Tressa Arbow, a 37-year-old communications specialist, was one of those who lost their job Thursday. She worked in the West Coast Regional Office of National Marine Fisheries Services in Seattle.
Arbow is a former Peace Corps worker and teacher, full-time employee and therefore on probation. She attended career fairs, classrooms and other venues, participated in teacher training to distribute educational materials, and discussed topics such as salmon repair and marine mammal harassment prevention.
She also helped scientists hone their ability to communicate their work to a wider audience.
Arbow, a West Seattle resident who worked in Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho, loved her work. She started as a contractor in 2023.
“This job meant so much to me. I’ve always wanted to use my talent and skills to serve the country,” Arbow said. “It was very special… I’m not technically used to this role. But I’m like a mid-career.”
Arbow said NOAA “losing people on both ends of the spectrum. New people with energy and excitement…and then long-term people with institutional knowledge.”
Nick Tolimieri is the chairman of the local 8A Fisheries Branch of the International Federation of Specialised Engineers, and previously estimated that around 34 probation employees at Alaska and Northwest Fisheries Science Centers were at risk. Trimieri confirmed Thursday afternoon that the shootings had begun and said at least 12 people had been fired at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
The Alaska and Northwest Fisheries Science Centers employ around 600 non-approved employees everywhere. The Northwest Centre has other offices in Newport, Point Adams, Pasco and Manchester. Alaska has additional facilities in Kodiak, Orche Bay and Newport.
Probation staff at Alaska and Northwest Science Centers include a variety of fisheries ecologists, oceanographers, management and facility employment. They work on field research, stock assessments, salmon recovery, and how changes in climate and other conditions will affect future fishing.
“[We]are deeply concerned about our ability to continue our sustainable fishery management mission in the face of dramatic reductions in the NOAA fishery workforce and budgets,” he said. Letters from the union It was signed by Tolimieri and submitted to the Pacific Fisheries Management Council on Thursday before the shooting began.
“We need your help to continue our work to support you and to support healthy and productive fisheries for years to come,” the letter states. “We ask that you hear an alarm about the consequences you and your community may face if we are prevented from fulfilling our mission.”
Portland-based reporter Hal Burnerton contributed the report. It included materials from the Associated Press.
