Thousands more have left the US Department of Energy, after employees were offered a second chance to take financial incentives to leave their jobs.
Reuters reports that more than 2,600 workers have left, with more potentially taking the offer in the days to come. Staffers over the age of 40 get an additional 45-day period to consider the offer.
1,217 staffers took a January offer to leave, while around 2,000 employees left after the DOE fired probationary employees in February. The Department had around 16,000 workers prior to the effort.
Under DOGE directives, up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs were fired. The DOE then had to rehire the staffers because of their critical work.
Among those leaving across the two rounds and firings are members of the Grid Deployment Office, which looks to accelerate development of new and upgraded electric infrastructure across the country.
Other staffers across renewable energy development, carbon capture, battery development, transmission work, and legal work have also left.
The deputy director for commercialization programs at the Office of Technology Transitions, Victor Scott Kane, was among those who announced their departure. There, he helped bring breakthrough energy technologies from the lab to the market.
"And for those of you staying here at DOE, I will remain your biggest champion and resource, and I deeply respect your willingness to stay and carry out the critical mission of DOE," Kane said on LinkedIn.
Senior advisor Brian Anderson, clean energy demonstrations project manager Georgia Knackstedt, and cultural resources specialist Katherine Tipton also announced their departure.
The mass cuts come despite President Donald Trump declaring a "national energy emergency," and claiming that the US had to double its total power to support AI.
The DOE has also detailed 16 possible sites for the development of data centers on federal land. Initially a Biden-era effort, the RFI hopes to lead to the construction of AI infrastructure at select DOE sites with a target of commencing operation by the end of 2027.
