Trump team plans firings of probationary workers at NIST, key agency for AI

By Oma Seddiq and Mackenzie Hawkins

  The National Institute of Standards and Technology, a lab housed under the Commerce Department, is preparing to fire as many as roughly 500 probationary staffers as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to the federal government.  

Some probationary employees at the agency received verbal notices about upcoming terminations on Wednesday, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private information. A final decision on the scope of the terminations has not yet been made, some of the people said. 

 

NIST was responsible for helping implement key initiatives under the Biden administration, including funds for semiconductor manufacturing and setting standards for artificial intelligence use and development.

 

 

The forthcoming cuts come as Trump’s new Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick takes the reins of the agency. During his confirmation hearing last month, Lutnick said he plans to review the Biden administration’s chips programmes as well as AI initiatives under the department. The layoffs also accompany a shift in AI policy under the Trump administration, which has moved away from the Biden administration’s risk-based approach to focus on promoting innovation.

 

The impacted staff could make up a large chunk of the offices overseeing Biden-era semiconductor investments, including almost three-fifths of the office implementing $39 billion in manufacturing incentives projects as well as two thirds of staffers responsible for $11 billion in research and development programs.  

 

Staffers at the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute, responsible for testing and evaluating advanced AI systems and setting standards, could also face cuts. The Biden administration launched the institute in 2023 as an offshoot of a comprehensive AI executive order, which Trump repealed on his first day in office. 

 

The Trump administration has escalated efforts to slash the size of the federal government by laying off probationary staff across federal agencies. Probationary employees are typically workers within their first year or two on the job, including those who have been recently promoted.

 

The mass layoffs have sparked widespread concern over potential brain drain and research gaps within the government. A series of lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration in response, alleging executive overreach.

 

NIST did not immediately respond to a request for comment.