Kim ZetterFeb 18, 2025
The National Science Foundation fired nearly 170 workers this morning in Zoom call. This included workers who had already cleared their one-year probationary period only to have it changed to two years earlier this month, putting them in line for termination. It also included at-will permanent workers -- the latter were not among those designated for firing by the Trump administration; instead NSF decided on its own to eliminate them. Here's my story:
https://www.wired.com/story/national-science-foundation-february-2025-firings/
National Science Foundation Fires 168 Workers as Federal Purge Continues

Firings at the NSF included permanent employees who had already completed their one-year probationary period, as well as at-will workers.

WIRED
Show threadwbftw
@kimzetter I must admit, I didn't expect to find sleazy management practices at NSF. Out of curiosity, are changes to the length of the probationary period after the contract has been signed even legal? Doesn't that open the employer to legal trouble? Use of at-will contracts takes the cake though.
Feb 18, 2025 at 9:59pmWeb
Show threadKim ZetterFeb 18, 2025
@wbftw My understanding is that this probably won't stand up legally, but in the meantime workers will waste a lot of time fighting it and the programs they were working in may get shut down so that even if they win a legal battle there may not be a job for them to return to
Show threadwbftwFeb 18, 2025
@kimzetter You probably are right and it's definitely a major suck for the people affected. Might open the administration to unlawful termination lawsuites though, which might get "interesting" if nothing is there at that point (are there any penalties for the employer in such a case?).