NNSA cuts 236 federal jobs, 11.9 percent reduction since early 2025

The National Nuclear Security Administration reduced its federal workforce by 236 employees since early fiscal year 2025 through the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, according to a Government Accountability Office report. The reduction represents 11.9 percent of the workforce that peaked at 1,991 employees early in fiscal year 2025.

The agency attributed the reductions to very limited hiring and employee separations, primarily retirements and resignations. Hiring was limited during the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 through the first quarter of fiscal year 2026. The reductions have impacted mission critical workforce including nuclear engineers and contract specialists.

NNSA oversees a 25 billion dollar annual budget and approximately 70,000 management and operating contractor personnel. The agency maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile and nuclear nonproliferation efforts.

The GAO report found NNSA faced challenges recruiting and retaining federal staff even after a statutory cap limiting federal employees was eliminated in fiscal year 2023. NNSA committed to developing a workforce planning process to inform future budget requests in response to its increased workload and the elimination of the cap.

NNSA has a current workload at its highest level since the Cold War. The agency oversees a 200 billion dollar, two-decades-long effort to modernize nuclear weapons and related infrastructure. The GAO was asked to examine workforce reductions since January 2025.