More furloughs, possible layoffs at largest Tri-Cities employer after Trump proposal

Leadership at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland are reviewing options, including reducing staff, as it prepares for a likely cut in federal spending at the lab.

In addition, more furloughs are expected in the coming weeks, after some staff were furloughed in March, according to a memo sent to lab staff this week by Steven Ashby, director of the Department of Energy laboratory in Richland.

The memo was in response to the release of more information May 30 on the Trump administration’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year and also addressed a reduced financial forecast in the current fiscal year.

The lab has a $1.6 billion annual research budget and about 6,400 employees. Battelle, which holds the DOE contract to manage and operate PNNL, is the Tri-Cities largest single employer.

The fiscal 2026 budget is still only a proposal, or request, to Congress and lacks detail, Ashby emphasized in his memo. Congress is responsible for setting the budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

The Trump administration document is the first step in a budget process that will play out over several months, he said.

But the president’s budget proposal includes significant cuts to most DOE programs, including those for which PNNL does research.

Of particularly concern are a 74% cut to DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs and the 56% cut proposed to the DOE Biological and Environmental Research program, which supports the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory on the PNNL campus, he said.

“If approved by Congress, these cuts would lead to large layoffs at several national labs, including PNNL,” Ashby said in his memo.

He said he expected Congress to moderate the proposed cuts.

Congress did not approve similar steep cuts in certain DOE programs that the Trump administration proposed in its first term.

But the fiscal 2026 proposal comes as Congress and the nation face serious fiscal challenges, Ashby said.

PNNL must plan for “likely funding reductions,” he told employees.

PNNL furloughed some staff in March and expects to have more furloughs after some fiscal 2025 funding was delayed or rescinded.

In March, with no fiscal 2025 budget yet approved, Congress instead passed a continuing resolution for the remainder of the fiscal year. For the most part, it set the current year’s budget at fiscal 2024 levels rather than approving a detailed budget for the year.

PNNL must prepare for the possibility of another continuing resolution for fiscal 2026, Ashby said.

“I know that this message will be upsetting to many, and I wish I did not have to share it,” he told staff.

He said lab leadership is working hard to minimize the impact of any budget cuts.

This story was originally published June 6, 2025 at 5:00 AM.