Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is planning layoffs by October because of Trump administration budget cuts, according to an internal video viewed by POLITICO’s E&E News.
In the video distributed to staff this month, Lab Director Michael Witherell says “as we look ahead to the federal budget for fiscal year 2026, it has become clear that staffing reductions at the lab are unavoidable.”
The comments come as the nation’s 17 national labs, which support research on technologies ranging from electric vehicles to coal, are facing significant changes.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been a vocal supporter of the labs, saying they are important for developing Trump administration priorities such as nuclear power and artificial intelligence. On Thursday, DOE announced it selected four sites, including Idaho National Laboratory, to build data centers on federal land. At the same time, President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal 2026, which is being debated in Congress, would slash funding for many lab programs, particularly for electric vehicles, wind and solar.
