Weather Service rehiring at offices left 'critically understaffed' by layoffs
(The Hill) – The National Weather Service (NWS) is seeking to hire 126 people, including at least some meteorologists, after massive layoffs at the agency left several offices understaffed.
Tom Fahy, legislative director at a union that represents NWS employees, told The Hill that the weather service would conduct the hiring.
Positions that would be open include meteorologists, hydrologists, physical scientists and electronics technicians. Fahy, with the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said that the physical scientists category includes some meteorologists, while the electronics technicians maintain equipment like radars.
The move to hire more staff was first reported by CNN.
A spokesperson for the National Weather Service confirmed via email that the agency was taking some steps to fill vacancies at the agency.
“NOAA leadership is taking steps to address those who took a voluntary early retirement option. NWS continues to conduct short-term Temporary Duty assignments (TDYs), and is in the process of conducting a series of Reassignment Opportunity Notices (RONs) to fill roles at NWS field locations with the greatest operational need,” said spokesperson Erica Grow Cei.
“Additionally, a targeted number of permanent, mission-critical field positions will soon be advertised under an exception to the Department-wide hiring freeze to further stabilize frontline operations,” she added.
The move comes after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) fired hundreds of workers, including some at the weather service, as part of an effort to shrink the size of the government.
It also comes after an internal document stated that the department was seeking to reassign staffers to fill vacancies in “critically understaffed” offices and was leaked last month.
The document said that the weather service was looking to fill positions including meteorologists in disaster-prone areas such as Houston and Miami.
It also comes alongside the arrival of hurricane season, which began Sunday.