DOGE layoffs: US Energy Department fires over 300 nuclear staff, seeks to bring them back next day

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking to restore the jobs of nuclear energy specialists after it fired hundreds of employees as part of the series of terminations led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The federal workers who were fired as part of the ongoing drive were handling the designing and maintenance of US’ nuclear weapons at the National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA), and were part of a larger group of employees terminated by the Energy Department. As per reports, around 300 to 400 people working at the NNSA were dismissed from their roles.

As per reports by CNN and Fortune quoting sources, the reversal of the decision was announced in an all-staff meeting on Friday.

During the meeting, NNSA administrator Teresa Robbins reportedly said that the organisation had received orders to revoke the termination of these probationary employees. She added that if these workers were not fired already, their jobs were now safe.

“There is a good probability that most or all probationary employees who were fired could return,” a person familiar with the matter was quoted as saying by CNN.

All NNSA employees who lost access to the agency’s network and internal IT systems will have it back, the source added.

As per Fortune, the decision to revoke the order came in because these workers “deal with sensitive national security secrets”.

Hundreds of nuclear staff fired

Officials of the Donald Trump administration on Thursday laid off over 300 people working at the National Nuclear Security Administration as part of a broader layoff drive in the Energy Department.

Some of these employees used to work on sites where nuclear weapons are built, overseeing contractors who were assigned with the task of building these arms. They also inspected these weapons.

The fired employees also include those who used to frame requirements and guidelines for contractors to build nuclear weapons.

“Congress is freaking out because it appears DOE didn’t really realize NNSA oversees the nuclear stockpile,” a source was quoted by CNN as saying.

“The nuclear deterrent is the backbone of American security and stability – period. For there to be any even very small holes poked even in the maintenance of that deterrent should be extremely frightening to people,” the source added.

Most of the workers who were dismissed were on probation, working for less than one or two years in most cases. Probationary staffers who work at NNSA’s Office of Secure Transportation, were exempt from Thursday’s firings.

The NNSA is a semi-autonomous part of the Department of Energy, and is responsible for manufacturing and dismantling nuclear weapons, responding to radiological emergencies and providing the US Navy with nuclear reactors.