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This is the second round of job cuts in the past seven months, after 114 employees were affected in May 2025. Image: Dennis Schroeder/NREL
The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), previously known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, has laid off 134 employees.
This is the second time the laboratory has been affected by job cuts since the Trump administration took office in January 2025. Last May, 114 employees were laid off in research and operations at the NLR headquarters in Golden, Colorado, US.
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“Earlier this week, the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) implemented workforce actions affecting 134 employees across the laboratory, including roles in both research and operations. These actions were taken to adjust to existing and projected funding levels and alignment with DOE priorities. We recognise the meaningful contributions of those impacted and the role they have played in advancing the laboratory’s work,” said a NLR spokesperson to PV Tech.
No details were given regarding which research programme has been affected by the job cuts.
US Representative, Brittany Pettersen, said: “Donald Trump has consistently put our federal workforce on the chopping block. These are people who work to make energy more affordable, conduct groundbreaking climate research, and keep our state up and running.
“Beyond being some of our country’s brightest minds, these are our community members, our neighbors who have families to support. Trump’s backwards agenda is going to undo the progress we’ve made to combat the climate crisis and have cascading effects on our economy. I’m deeply sorry to the employees whose livelihoods are now in jeopardy.”
The new round of layoffs comes two months after the US Department of Energy renamed the laboratory at the end of 2025, in a move to reflect the Trump administration’s “broader vision” of the organisation’s applied energy research, which traditionally focused on alternative and renewable energy sources.
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