NOAA Firings Prompt Dingell Action, Overall Firings Spark Debate On Michigan Impact

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 02/28/2025) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) saw firings as part of ongoing federal government cutbacks that have concerned a U.S. Representative and have experts debating the impact on the state.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn), who co-chairs the Great Lakes Task Force, sent a letter questioning the firing of 15 probationary employees at the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab in Ann Arbor.

“We have heard directly from those who were terminated, and they are distraught about what this means for the future of the lab and for the Great Lakes in general,” Dingell wrote in the letter.

The cuts come amid a flurry of federal firings in different departments and cuts by the federal government to different programs.

NOAA hasn’t been the only department in Michigan that has seen cuts to probationary employees. The National Forest Service saw 60 employees cut from their rolls, prompting some officials to worry about the coming wildfire season.

The Federal Civilian Employment by State and Congressional District shows Michigan had 29,610 non-military, non-postal federal civilian employees as of Dec. 20.

W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Regional Economic and Community Development Senior Director Iryna Lendel said she wouldn’t be able to speculate on anticipated job losses from cuts in the federal government and the firing of employees.

University of Michigan Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics Director Gabriel Ehrlich also said the university was working on updating their forecast for the Michigan economy based on the cuts and hoped to release the update soon.

Anderson Economic Group founder Patrick Anderson said it was unlikely federal layoffs would impact the unemployment rate in Michigan, because there were so few in relation to employment in the state.

He also said the probationary nature of the layoffs would play a part in that equation.

“That’s not to minimize the effect on individual families, even if it is a small number. If these are surprise layoffs for employees, that’s a significant shock to them and their families,” Anderson said.

Department of Technology, Management and Budget spokesperson Laura Wotruba said the state wouldn’t know the impact of the cuts from the federal government for some time and that the February unemployment numbers would come out on March 27.

She provided a number of 57,700 jobs as of December, with about 20,500 from the Postal Service.

The University of Michigan has also tightened its belt, and U-M President Santa Ono wrote a letter to faculty about watching spending after receiving notice from the federal government about the stoppage of a multi-million-dollar project.

Ono said the university would implement a hiring review process for all staff, but current outstanding offers made to staff candidates would remain in place.

“We appreciate your cooperation as we work to ensure our response to federal funding changes remains considered and strategic. While it is always difficult to contemplate potential spending cuts, your thoughtful engagement will be vital in helping us continue to fulfill our mission,” Ono wrote.

U-M Gerald R. Ford School Of Public Policy Professor Don Moynihan said it wasn’t just about the actual cutting of federal employees.

“Cuts in research funding will create massive budget holes at universities that will lead to layoffs,” he said.

Moynihan spoke with MIRS by email before Ono made the announcement on Feb. 26.

Moynihan said not only will the cuts to grants impact universities, but nonprofits and possibly state and local government employees.

He pointed out that any firing or cut would reduce the quality of the public service where the cut took place.

“We all pay taxes but will have a harder time getting a refund back with thousands of IRS employees fired. We all fly and are less safe as FAA employees are being laid off. We all eat, and should be worried that the head of food safety at the Food and Drug Administration resigned in protest of how the layoffs will undermine his ability to protect the food chain,” he said.