Alabama’s preeminent meteorologist defended workers with the National Weather Service on Tuesday as Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency takes aim at the agency overseeing the NWS with job and budget cuts.

Federal workers who were not let go said the afternoon layoffs included meteorologists who do crucial local forecasts in National Weather Service offices across the country.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the latest federal agency to have been targeted by Elon Musk's DOGE committee. This week, the Commerce Department began

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has targeted federal agencies like USAID, CFPB, and NOAA to reduce government spending.

Some 880 employees of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were laid off on Thursday, a congressional source told CBS News.

The latest round of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency, led by tech billionaire and Trump adviser Elon Musk, are expected to impact at least 10% of NOAA’s workforce with more cuts potentially on the horizon.

Hundreds of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) employees, including weather forecasters, have had their jobs terminated, according to lawmakers and weather experts.Remaining federal workers reported that the layoffs included meteorologists vital to local forecasting at National Weather Service offices nationwide.

Multiple federal agencies appeared to be caught off guard by the Elon Musk-directed email from the Office of Personnel Management.

Hundreds of weather forecasters and other federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees on probationary status were fired