The Department of Energy said over the weekend that it ultimately dismissed fewer than 50 employees from its branch overseeing U.S. nuclear weapons, capping several days of confusion after the agency fired hundreds of staffers only to reinstate some of them.
DOE’s estimate was contested by Democrats and some current and former employees. But in an emailed statement, DOE asserted that the dismissals at the National Nuclear Security Administration involved probationary employees in “primarily administrative and clerical roles.”
“The Energy Department will continue its critical mission of protecting our national security and nuclear deterrence in the development, modernization, and stewardship of America’s atomic weapons enterprise, including the peaceful use of nuclear technology and nonproliferation,” the DOE statement said.
DOE’s tally comes after more than 300 people were initially laid off at NNSA before the agency’s acting director Teresa Robbins issued a memo Friday night rescinding many of those firings, according to people familiar with the matter. DOE also fired and then unfired federal workers who help run the power grid in the Pacific Northwest.
