Federal workers in Boulder face uncertainty as mass layoffs ripple through government agencies

Federal workers in Boulder are feeling the impacts of the Trump administration’s decision to abruptly fire thousands of federal employees between Feb. 13 and 18 — part of a sweeping effort that could eventually eliminate up to 200,000 jobs nationwide. 

Boulder County is home to more than a dozen federal research labs and roughly 1,700 direct federal employees, according to federal data, many of whom now face an uncertain future. Thousands more hold jobs tied to federal funding, from research to housing and human rights organizations. Some have already lost their jobs and are grappling with how to pay rent and provide for their families. Others are waiting anxiously to find out if they will be next. Exact numbers remain unclear.

One Boulder resident, who requested anonymity, said her husband was laid off from his job as a contractor with the U.S. Geological Survey.

“That was our main source of income,” she said. “We’ll just be on social security for now, and he’ll go back to applying for jobs endlessly.” 

Others who responded to Boulder Reporting Lab’s anonymous survey voiced fears about supporting their families, affording housing and the long-term impact of losing skilled workers from their federal offices. 

Beyond individual workers, some fear layoffs could significantly impact Boulder’s economy, where federally funded labs employ more than 3,500 people, most of whom are not direct federal employees, according to the Boulder Chamber. These include NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, the National Centers for Environmental Information and Earth System Research Laboratory, the National Weather Service and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

John Tayer, the Chamber’s president, called the layoffs “unprecedented” in scale and impact. “That being said, we are closely monitoring what actually is moving through the federal system and which decisions are going to be final,” he said.

The Chamber is analyzing the potential economic impact of these job cuts on Boulder and working to connect affected employees with job resources.

“We recognize that this could have a significant impact on the Boulder-area workforce and the important work these research facilities and federal departments are doing, both in our community and nationally,” Tayer said.

At 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, a network of federal workers’ unions is planning a protest against these mass layoffs at the Department of Commerce building in Boulder. 

Meg Tilton, a developer at CIRES, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at CU Boulder — a partnership between CU and NOAA — helped organize Boulder’s protest. She said she’s doing so as a private citizen, not as a representative of either organization.

“I used to work on NOAA projects and saw firsthand what important work they do,” Tilton said, citing NOAA’s efforts in monitoring air quality, forecasting space weather and maintaining environmental data records going back decades. “Federal scientists and even long-term contractors at NOAA are scared they’ll lose their jobs.”

“I have never organized a protest before, and doing so makes me nervous,” Tilton said. “But I am really mad about what is happening to my friends who are feds.”

Inside the layoffs: A chaotic, sweeping effort to shrink the federal workforce

The layoffs — framed by the administration as an effort to “cut federal government waste, fraud and abuse” — have already eliminated an estimated 10,000 employees across multiple agencies, according to reports, with thousands more at risk.

Preliminary estimates suggest the cuts so far include:

• More than 3,400 employees at the U.S. Forest Service
• More than 1,200 employees at the Department of Energy
• More than 1,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs
• 388 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency
• Hundreds of employees at the Food and Drug Administration
• 5,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• About 100 employees at the Office of Personnel Management
• About 70 employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• About 300 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration 
• About 100 employees at the General Services Administration
• Hundreds of employees at the Federal Aviation Administration
• An unconfirmed number at the Small Business Administration

According to the Washington Post, cutting government personnel by one-fourth would reduce federal spending by about 1%.

The layoffs primarily target federal probationary employees — those in the first year of a new job, or two years in the case of military veterans and people with disabilities hired through special programs. The cuts have also impacted senior workers who recently changed roles or switched agencies, leaving some longtime public employees without jobs.  These employees have fewer protections and can be fired if they fail “to demonstrate his or her qualifications for continued employment.”

Many fired employees received emails citing poor performance, but many said they never received negative performance reviews before — a claim backed by a federal lawsuit filed by workers alleging they were terminated solely because of their probationary status, not their job performance.  

The layoff process itself has been riddled with errors. Some termination letters had misspelled names, incorrect job titles or even missing agency names — signs that the effort was rushed. In some cases, the administration has already asked workers to return, including nuclear safety employees and federal power grid operators in the Pacific Northwest, according to reports.

Ripple effects in Boulder beyond federal offices

The Trump administration’s broader effort to cut national spending will likely impact jobs beyond traditional federal government agencies. 

According to a preliminary analysis by the Chamber, about 12,000 people in Boulder work in jobs tied to the federal government, including roles in human rights, housing and research organizations that rely on federal funding.

Mary, who asked Boulder Reporting Lab not to use her last name to protect her husband’s identity, said she expects him to be fired from his job as a software engineer and scientist at CIRES, the research institute at CU Boulder.

CIRES studies climate, natural hazards and wildfire mitigation. Its work includes analyzing fire behavior, air quality impacts and climate-driven fire risks to improve forecasting, response and resilience.

At the start of the year, the institute believed it had funding secured for two to three years, according to Mary. Now, she said, her husband’s team is operating on a “week-to-week basis, learning if they continue to be funded.”

Mary’s husband specializes in mapping and tracking natural resources, publishing essential data for researchers and the public. “He has chosen to stay in this job, despite being qualified for better-paying jobs in the private sector, because he cares deeply about the importance of this work for the public good,” she said.

Meanwhile, wildland firefighting support services may also be affected. National news outlets report that the U.S. Forest Service’s 10% staff cut could impact the agency’s fire prevention and mitigation efforts, including its collaboration with Boulder County on wildfire planning. 

Last summer, federal firefighters played a crucial role in containing the Stone Canyon and Lake Shore fires in Boulder County by providing rapid air support and additional resources. Their ability to quickly redirect aircraft and personnel helped prevent the fires from spreading further and causing even more destruction.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, issued a statement pledging to fight these layoffs.  

“These firings are not about poor performance — there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants. They are about power,” the AFGE statement read. 

“Employees were given no notice, no due process, and no opportunity to defend themselves in a blatant violation of the principles of fairness and merit that are supposed to govern federal employment.”

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management defended the cuts, saying they were made “in support of the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard.”

For many in Boulder, that reassurance means little.

“It’s really upsetting that the current administration is gutting important work like this,” Mary said. “It makes me very fearful for the future of our country.”

Do you have information to share or a personal story to tell about recent federal layoffs? Reach out to Brooke Stephenson at brooke@boulderreportinglab.org or take this anonymous survey: