‘You screwed people’: A Look Inside the National Science Foundation’s Dismissal of 168 Employees
During a poignant meeting, foundation officials revealed that approximately 10 percent of their workforce will be laid off and indicated that additional firings may occur in the future.
TroibNews 
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has enacted staff cuts that exceeded those mandated by the Trump administration, prompting significant backlash within the science funding agency.
On Tuesday, NSF dismissed approximately 10 percent of its workforce, or 168 employees. This included a majority of probationary staff and all experts, who are specialists brought in as contract workers in specific scientific fields.
Although the agency was not required to let go of its experts, it chose to do so for the sake of fairness, according to a senior NSF official during a highly charged hybrid meeting held at the agency's 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," Micah Cheatham, NSF's chief management officer, stated during the emotionally intense hour-long meeting, as reported by PMG's E&E News. "This is the first of many forthcoming workforce reductions," he added.
Founded by Congress in 1950 to maintain U.S. leadership in science and engineering, NSF now provides around a quarter of federal funding for basic research at American colleges and universities.
Reports suggest that NSF plans to make additional cuts, potentially reducing its workforce of 1,500 by up to 50 percent. Concerns are growing among scientists and Democratic lawmakers that such significant staff reductions could critically disrupt the nation's research and innovation pipeline, which may lead to detrimental effects on the U.S. economy and its citizens.
These staff reductions occur amid efforts led by Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump, to implement new federal spending cuts, targeting areas such as foreign aid and diversity initiatives. Nearly all federal agencies are feeling the impact from these cuts, or anticipate them in the near future.
A select number of probationary employees deemed essential were not part of the layoffs.
"We asked who was mission critical and more than half of people were identified," Cheatham explained. "That was too many."
Employees who were let go received instructions to cease work by 1 p.m. Tuesday, after which they would lose access to the agency's computer network. They had until the end of the day to clear their desks.
To mitigate the impact of a termination on their resumes, employees were given the option to resign, though they would forfeit eligibility for unemployment benefits.
The announcement triggered a wave of outrage, confusion, and concern during the meeting, leading to a flurry of critical emails from affected employees.
"You are presenting us as trophies in front of OPM," one frustrated employee remarked, referring to the Office of Personnel Management. "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," they added. "That's on all of you. Take some accountability."
An NSF official extended an apology to those affected, explaining that they were "following orders" from the Trump administration.
The White House and OPM did not respond to inquiries for comment.
NSF spokesperson Mike England asserted that the agency's actions were necessary to comply with the president’s DOGE executive order and expressed gratitude to the dismissed “employees for their service to NSF and their contributions to advance the agency mission.”
One dismissed employee expressed concern about the implications of their firing, noting their responsibility for "literally tens of millions of dollars" and their involvement in an upcoming 80-person grant review panel. "My email is going to go dead at one o'clock and they're going to say, where's that guy?"
Following the meeting, staff members began to circulate agency-wide emails that sharply criticized NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan and other senior officials.
"If NSF's top leadership has any dignity, they should resign immediately!" stated 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," lamented an affected program director.
Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee also criticized the situation, accusing Musk and Trump of undermining the nation's competitiveness.
"We are extremely disappointed in NSF leadership," commented 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."
This report was contributed to by reporter Chelsea Harvey.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
On Tuesday, NSF dismissed approximately 10 percent of its workforce, or 168 employees. This included a majority of probationary staff and all experts, who are specialists brought in as contract workers in specific scientific fields.
Although the agency was not required to let go of its experts, it chose to do so for the sake of fairness, according to a senior NSF official during a highly charged hybrid meeting held at the agency's 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," Micah Cheatham, NSF's chief management officer, stated during the emotionally intense hour-long meeting, as reported by PMG's E&E News. "This is the first of many forthcoming workforce reductions," he added.
Founded by Congress in 1950 to maintain U.S. leadership in science and engineering, NSF now provides around a quarter of federal funding for basic research at American colleges and universities.
Reports suggest that NSF plans to make additional cuts, potentially reducing its workforce of 1,500 by up to 50 percent. Concerns are growing among scientists and Democratic lawmakers that such significant staff reductions could critically disrupt the nation's research and innovation pipeline, which may lead to detrimental effects on the U.S. economy and its citizens.
These staff reductions occur amid efforts led by Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency established by President Donald Trump, to implement new federal spending cuts, targeting areas such as foreign aid and diversity initiatives. Nearly all federal agencies are feeling the impact from these cuts, or anticipate them in the near future.
A select number of probationary employees deemed essential were not part of the layoffs.
"We asked who was mission critical and more than half of people were identified," Cheatham explained. "That was too many."
Employees who were let go received instructions to cease work by 1 p.m. Tuesday, after which they would lose access to the agency's computer network. They had until the end of the day to clear their desks.
To mitigate the impact of a termination on their resumes, employees were given the option to resign, though they would forfeit eligibility for unemployment benefits.
The announcement triggered a wave of outrage, confusion, and concern during the meeting, leading to a flurry of critical emails from affected employees.
"You are presenting us as trophies in front of OPM," one frustrated employee remarked, referring to the Office of Personnel Management. "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," they added. "That's on all of you. Take some accountability."
An NSF official extended an apology to those affected, explaining that they were "following orders" from the Trump administration.
The White House and OPM did not respond to inquiries for comment.
NSF spokesperson Mike England asserted that the agency's actions were necessary to comply with the president’s DOGE executive order and expressed gratitude to the dismissed “employees for their service to NSF and their contributions to advance the agency mission.”
One dismissed employee expressed concern about the implications of their firing, noting their responsibility for "literally tens of millions of dollars" and their involvement in an upcoming 80-person grant review panel. "My email is going to go dead at one o'clock and they're going to say, where's that guy?"
Following the meeting, staff members began to circulate agency-wide emails that sharply criticized NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan and other senior officials.
"If NSF's top leadership has any dignity, they should resign immediately!" stated 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," lamented an affected program director.
Democrats on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee also criticized the situation, accusing Musk and Trump of undermining the nation's competitiveness.
"We are extremely disappointed in NSF leadership," commented 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."
This report was contributed to by reporter Chelsea Harvey.
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
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