The National Institute of Standards and Technology Braces for Mass Firings
1 min read
Summary
Employees at the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) expect mass layoffs to be announced this week as the new Trump administration seeks to cut costs across the government.
Between 500 recent graduate hires and other staffers are expected to lose their jobs, including lauded technical experts and three lab directors.
The US AI Safety Institute (AISI), which was launched by the previous administration to collaborate with AI companies and test the capabilities of their most powerful models, is believed to be among the teams facing the heaviest losses.
The institute has been working with rivals to Elon Musk’s startup xAI, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, leading to concerns about Musk’s potential conflicts of interest.
Democratic representatives have warned that NIST’s work, including on accurate clocks and AI, must be protected to ensure it “does not become a boon for our adversaries”.
