Sweeping US energy department layoffs hit offices of loans, nuclear security, sources say

WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) – The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has laid off about 1,200 to 2,000 workers at the Department of Energy, including employees at a power grid office, the nuclear security administration and the loans office, three sources familiar with the matter said on Friday.

Democratic lawmakers also said the layoffs include workers at national labs and hydroelectric plants, and Cold War legacy nuclear sites that pose safety risks. The DOE has about 14,000 federal employees and 95,000 contractors.

The layoffs of probationary workers come after three people representing billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency arrived at the agency last week.

Some 325 workers have been let go from the department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, which manages the U.S. nuclear weapons fleet and works to secure radiological materials around the world, two of the sources said.

But those layoffs at NNSA have been “partly rescinded” to retain essential nuclear security workers, one of the sources said. It was unclear how many of the 325 firings were rescinded.

The DOE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“It’s been chaotic for the staff,” one source at NNSA said. “We just want to focus on national security stuff and this has distracted us from our work.” The losses at the NNSA occur at a time when nuclear power plants have been at risk in Russia’s war on Ukraine, including Zaporizhzhia, the largest in Europe.

The NNSA is still working to secure radiological materials in the region, one source said.

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