Doge Critically Assails Personnel Supervising and Constructing American Nuclear Arsenals
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Modernization and the Impact of Workforce Cuts
America is planning a mammoth $2 trillion investment over the next three decades to upgrade its nuclear arsenal. However, employing the specialized workforce to maintain and upgrade the existing stockpile of over 5K nukes is a costly endeavor. Recent workforce cutbacks have left the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) in a precarious position.
The Department of Government Efficiency, spearheaded by Elon Musk, has been making indiscriminate cuts to federal employees without due consideration of the consequences. A new report from The New York Times has shed light on the severe impact of these cuts on the NNSA, a division of the Department of Energy responsible for managing America's nuclear weapons.
In February, the NNSA made headlines for firing over 300 employees, only to rescind the layoffs days later. Initially, DOE spokespersons stated that less than 50 employees had been dismissed, most of them administrative. However, The New York Times' investigation reveals a different story.
The number of affected employees is significantly higher, and the losses more significant. The workforce cutbacks didn't begin with layoffs but with buyout offers. Over 130 employees working on nuclear projects accepted those offers. The Times also reports that 27 employees were terminated and not re-hired. Some of these dismissed employees included engineers, project analysts, project managers, accountants, physicists, and scientists, among others.
The proposed $20 billion annual modernization of nuclear weapons might face delays due to these workforce reductions. America's intentions include constructing new missile silos across multiple states, building new nuclear missiles, and producing nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines. Unfortunately, the U.S. industrial base lacks the setup to carry out these specialized tasks, and the costs would be enormous.
These cuts will undoubtedly slow down the modernization process, potentially endangering public safety. John Carl Baker, Deputy Director of Programs at the Ploughshares Fund, points out, "...cutting experts in nuclear security at the very moment when the US is replacing its entire nuclear arsenal is foolish. This ambitious undertaking already has serious risks and proceeding with fewer qualified specialists makes it more likely that something will go awry."
The workforce reductions have also claimed some prominent figures such as Kyle Fowler, the director of the NNSA's Office of Strategic Materials Production Modernization. His office focused on enriching uranium, a critical process for both weapons and power plant production. America's uranium production lags behind countries like Russia, Canada, and Kazakhstan, three countries with which the U.S. has had strained relations in the past.
Among the lost is Lina Cordero, who specialized in modernizing plutonium pit production. Plutonium pits are the core component of a nuclear weapon and essential for the Sentinel-class missiles the U.S. aims to deploy in the new silos. Manufacturing plutonium pits is a complex art that the U.S. seems to have forgotten.
The U.S. can only produce a few plutonium pits each year, and production stopped between 2007 and 2011. The country hasn't mass-produced plutonium pits since 1989. The Rocky Flats plant south of Denver, Colorado, which mainly manufactured plutonium pits, was a nuclear waste disaster area. In 1989, the FBI raided the facility and shut it down.
As plans move forward to ramp up plutonium production in New Mexico and South Carolina, local communities and federal courts have expressed concerns about another Rocky Flats incident. The unfortunate thing is that many of the people who could help address these concerns are no longer around due to the DOGE cuts.
The DOE's primary nuclear work is carried out by around 60K contract workers. These workers build missiles, dig silos, and construct submarines. The DOE insists that these contract workers are exempt from cuts. However, several key personnel overseeing these contractors have been let go.
American defense contractors are not always known for their ethical behavior or cost-effectiveness. The Sentinel nuclear weapons program, which involves building 450 new silos, is 81% over budget. This, along with questionable employee safety practices, raises concerns about the efficiency and safety of the current setup.
Donald Trump's stated desire to denuclearize is in stark contrast to the evergreen nuclear weapons industrial complex. With so much money at stake and many jobs on the line, it's hard to imagine a future where Trump ends the production of nukes in America. Instead, it seems like he's made an already expensive and potentially dangerous industry even more expensive and dangerous.
- The future modernization of America's nuclear weapons may face delays due to workforce reductions, as the United States intends to construct new missile silos, build new nuclear missiles, and produce nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines.
- John Carl Baker, Deputy Director of Programs at the Ploughshares Fund, warns that cutting experts in nuclear security during the process of replacing the entire nuclear arsenal is foolish, as it increases the likelihood of something going awry.
- America's nuclear workforcereductions have claimed some prominent figures, including Kyle Fowler, the director of the NNSA's Office of Strategic Materials Production Modernization, whose office focused on enriching uranium, a critical process for both weapons and power plant production.
- American defense contractors, known for their questionable ethical behavior and cost-effectiveness, are currently overseeing the Sentinel nuclear weapons program, which involves building 450 new silos and is 81% over budget, raising concerns about the efficiency and safety of the industry.
