The National Science Foundation will further reduce its workforce amid a major restructuring of the agency, according to an internal memo obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
The memo was issued on the heels of a major announcement, first reported Thursday by Science, that NSF would abolish all 37 divisions across its eight directorates — which include categories ranging from biological sciences to computer engineering — and remove the senior executives that lead them.
The memo, sent to staff Thursday by the agency’s chief management officer, Micah Cheatham, states that NSF on Thursday initiated a reduction in force of its Senior Executive Service, which houses its key leadership and managerial positions. As of Jan. 20, the memo notes, this service included 143 occupied and vacant positions — the restructuring will reduce the service to 59 positions.
The agency will also reduce its temporary workforce from 368 employees to 70 positions, the memo states. These include employees participating in the Visiting Scientist, Engineer and Educator (VSEE) Program, as well as a category of staff members known as “rotators,” who serve temporary stints at the agency under a provision known as the Intergovernmental Personnel Act.
NSF will also reassign all remote employees to its headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. These staff members must begin full-time in-person work there no later than June 16.
And the agency will terminate its Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM, which previously supported initiatives aimed at improving access to STEM education for underserved communities.
The announcements are the latest developments in a string of layoffs and other major overhauls at NSF. The agency fired roughly 10 percent of its workforce in February. In April, it canceled hundreds of grants across a variety of research disciplines. Former NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan abruptly resigned from his role last month amid the cancellations.
And last week, the White House released its budget proposal calling for the smallest NSF budget in decades. In response, a bipartisan group of 13 former NSF directors urged Congress this week to reject the plan.
Reporter Corbin Hiar contributed.
