'Staff Revolt at Science Agency Over Cuts: "Cowardliness at the Top"'
During a poignant meeting, foundation officials revealed that approximately 10 percent of their workforce would be laid off and cautioned that additional job cuts could follow.
TroibNews 
The National Science Foundation (NSF) took drastic steps exceeding the staff cuts called for by the Trump administration, leading to a significant backlash at the science funding agency.
On Tuesday, NSF terminated approximately 10 percent of its workforce, which amounted to 168 individuals, including most probationary employees and all experts—contract workers who specialize in specific scientific fields.
While the agency was not required to let go of its experts, it chose to do so for fairness reasons, explained a top NSF official during a charged hybrid meeting on Tuesday morning at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
"The removal of experts was completely at the agency's discretion. Because if we're asked to remove probationers, then we also need to remove at-will employees," stated Micah Cheatham, NSF's chief management officer, according to a transcript obtained by PMG's E&E News. He went on to note, "This is the first of many forthcoming workforce reductions."
Established by Congress in 1950, NSF's mission is to maintain U.S. leadership in science and engineering. Today, the agency contributes about a quarter of the federal funding allocated to American colleges and universities for basic research.
E&E News reported that NSF anticipates cutting up to half of its 1,500-person workforce, raising concerns among scientists and Democratic lawmakers about how such losses could severely disrupt the nation's research and innovation pipeline, potentially harming the U.S. economy and citizens.
This sweeping dismissal at one of the nation's premier scientific research funders coincides with Elon Musk's efforts—within the framework of the Department of Government Efficiency set up by President Trump—to significantly reduce federal spending, enlisting the support of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). His group initially focused on foreign aid and racial diversity efforts, but virtually every agency anticipates cuts or is currently experiencing them.
A few probationary employees determined to be essential by NSF leadership were exempted from the layoffs.
"We asked who was mission critical and more than half of people were identified," Cheatham mentioned. "That was too many."
Those terminated were instructed to cease work by 1 p.m. Tuesday and would lose access to the agency's computer systems at that time. They had until the day's end to clear their desks.
To mitigate the stigma of being fired, the staff was offered the option to resign, though this would disqualify them from receiving unemployment benefits.
The announcement led to widespread anger, confusion, and concern during the meeting, prompting several employees to voice their frustrations in scathing all-staff emails.
"You are presenting us as trophies in front of OPM," one irate employee remarked during the meeting, referring to the Office of Personnel Management, according to the transcript. "I don't want to hear anything about how you are sad, how you feel bad for everyone who's losing their job today."
"You screwed people, hardworking people, who trusted the word of this agency, left their careers, wherever they came from," the employee continued. "That's on all of you. Take some accountability."
An NSF official expressed remorse to the dismissed workers, clarifying that they were "following orders" from the Trump administration.
Neither the White House nor OPM responded to requests for commentary.
In a statement, NSF spokesperson Mike England noted that the actions taken were necessary to comply with the president’s DOGE executive order and expressed gratitude to the dismissed employees for their service and contributions to advancing the agency's mission.
One terminated employee cautioned that they were responsible for "literally tens of millions of dollars" and for an 80-person grant review panel scheduled to convene shortly. "My email is going to go dead at one o'clock and they're going to say, where's that guy?"
Following the meeting, employees began sending agency-wide emails that sharply criticized NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan and other top officials.
"If NSF's top leadership has any dignity, they should resign immediately!" affirmed a business operations manager. "At this point, witnessing the cowardliness at the top, NSF is serving no one!"
"The Director couldn’t even show up to the 10 AM firing call held for all of us," complained an impacted program director.
Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee joined the criticism, accusing Musk and Trump of undermining the nation's competitiveness.
"We are extremely disappointed in NSF leadership," stated Reps. Haley Stevens of Michigan and Zoe Lofgren of California, the committee’s ranking member. "They have failed American science by not standing up to [the Department of Government Efficiency] and protecting their employees. Dr. Panchanathan must reverse these firings."
Reporter Chelsea Harvey contributed to this report.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
On Tuesday, NSF terminated approximately 10 percent of its workforce, which amounted to 168 individuals, including most probationary employees and all experts—contract workers who specialize in specific scientific fields.
While the agency was not required to let go of its experts, it chose to do so for fairness reasons, explained a top NSF official during a charged hybrid meeting on Tuesday morning at its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.
"The removal of experts was completely at the agency's discretion. Because if we're asked to remove probationers, then we also need to remove at-will employees," stated Micah Cheatham, NSF's chief management officer, according to a transcript obtained by PMG's E&E News. He went on to note, "This is the first of many forthcoming workforce reductions."
Established by Congress in 1950, NSF's mission is to maintain U.S. leadership in science and engineering. Today, the agency contributes about a quarter of the federal funding allocated to American colleges and universities for basic research.
E&E News reported that NSF anticipates cutting up to half of its 1,500-person workforce, raising concerns among scientists and Democratic lawmakers about how such losses could severely disrupt the nation's research and innovation pipeline, potentially harming the U.S. economy and citizens.
This sweeping dismissal at one of the nation's premier scientific research funders coincides with Elon Musk's efforts—within the framework of the Department of Government Efficiency set up by President Trump—to significantly reduce federal spending, enlisting the support of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). His group initially focused on foreign aid and racial diversity efforts, but virtually every agency anticipates cuts or is currently experiencing them.
A few probationary employees determined to be essential by NSF leadership were exempted from the layoffs.
"We asked who was mission critical and more than half of people were identified," Cheatham mentioned. "That was too many."
Those terminated were instructed to cease work by 1 p.m. Tuesday and would lose access to the agency's computer systems at that time. They had until the day's end to clear their desks.
To mitigate the stigma of being fired, the staff was offered the option to resign, though this would disqualify them from receiving unemployment benefits.
The announcement led to widespread anger, confusion, and concern during the meeting, prompting several employees to voice their frustrations in scathing all-staff emails.
"You are presenting us as trophies in front of OPM," one irate employee remarked during the meeting, referring to the Office of Personnel Management, according to the transcript. "I don't want to hear anything about how you are sad, how you feel bad for everyone who's losing their job today."
"You screwed people, hardworking people, who trusted the word of this agency, left their careers, wherever they came from," the employee continued. "That's on all of you. Take some accountability."
An NSF official expressed remorse to the dismissed workers, clarifying that they were "following orders" from the Trump administration.
Neither the White House nor OPM responded to requests for commentary.
In a statement, NSF spokesperson Mike England noted that the actions taken were necessary to comply with the president’s DOGE executive order and expressed gratitude to the dismissed employees for their service and contributions to advancing the agency's mission.
One terminated employee cautioned that they were responsible for "literally tens of millions of dollars" and for an 80-person grant review panel scheduled to convene shortly. "My email is going to go dead at one o'clock and they're going to say, where's that guy?"
Following the meeting, employees began sending agency-wide emails that sharply criticized NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan and other top officials.
"If NSF's top leadership has any dignity, they should resign immediately!" affirmed a business operations manager. "At this point, witnessing the cowardliness at the top, NSF is serving no one!"
"The Director couldn’t even show up to the 10 AM firing call held for all of us," complained an impacted program director.
Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee joined the criticism, accusing Musk and Trump of undermining the nation's competitiveness.
"We are extremely disappointed in NSF leadership," stated Reps. Haley Stevens of Michigan and Zoe Lofgren of California, the committee’s ranking member. "They have failed American science by not standing up to [the Department of Government Efficiency] and protecting their employees. Dr. Panchanathan must reverse these firings."
Reporter Chelsea Harvey contributed to this report.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
