US media reported that more than 300 NNSA staff were let go, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.
That number was disputed by a spokesperson for the Department of Energy, who told CNN that "less than 50 people" were dismissed from NNSA.
The Thursday layoffs included staff stationed at facilities where weapons are built, according to CNN.
The Trump administration has since tried to reverse their terminations, according to media outlets, but has reportedly struggled to reach the people that were fired after they were locked out of their federal email accounts.
A memo sent to NNSA employees on Friday and obtained by NBC News read: "The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel."
"Please work with your supervisors to send this information (once you get it) to people's personal contact emails," the memo added.
Last week, nearly 10,000 federal workers were let go across several agencies, according to multiple US outlets.
That figure was in addition to the estimated 75,000 workers who have accepted an offer from the White House to leave voluntarily in the autumn.
Trump is working to slash spending across the board, abroad and at home, and going so far as to call for eliminating the education department.
He is getting help from the world's richest man, Elon Musk, who, through an effort called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), has sent workers to comb through data at federal agencies and helped implement the "buyout" offer.
Last week, the Trump administration ordered agencies to fire nearly all probationary employees, those who had generally been in their positions for less than a year and not yet earned job protection. That included the NNSA staff members.
Altogether, the move could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of people.
Several of the Trump administration's efforts to shrink the government's size and spending have been met with legal challenges.
More than 60 lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration since the president was inaugurated on 20 January.
Isaac1867 on February 18th, 2025 at 11:35 UTC »
Musk and his pack of idiots seem to forget that the people doing this kind of work have a rare skill set that requires years of training. This isn't like a Mcdonald's where you can fire everyone and have new crew slapped together in a week. They also don't seem to realize that pissing off the people who design, build and oversee the country's nuclear weapons is probably not good idea, especially when the President seems to be going out of his way to pick fights with every other country.
ProudnotLoud on February 18th, 2025 at 11:09 UTC »
Shocking that the concept of "move fast and break things" ACTUALLY breaks things and it's MORE difficult to then put them back together. It's always easier to destroy than to build or rebuild, idiots. That's why we THINK before we take a hatchet to things.
studio_bob on February 18th, 2025 at 11:08 UTC »
This is literally, play-for-play, what Musk did with Twitter. Don't imagine this is them admitting a mistake, even indirectly. The point is, first and foremost, intimidation of those who remain and secondarily wage/benefits cuts. It's about instilling a culture of obedience through fear and selecting for the most vulnerable and willing to be abused (anyone who would return to work under these conditions is most likely quite desperate).