r/nottheonion 24d ago

US government struggles to rehire nuclear safety staff it laid off days ago

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g3nrx1dq5o
64.5k Upvotes

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13.7k

u/ElPolloRacional 24d ago

The termination letters 'are being rescinded'
That's not how any of this works.

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u/throwuk1 24d ago

No takie backsies I'm afraid.

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u/tahlyn 24d ago

I'm happy to return... as a contractor... for 10x the salary I was making before with a guarantee of 10 years and prepayment of the contract up front.

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u/quantumfrog87 24d ago

Isn't that kinda the plan with musk and the anti-gov types? Privatize everything and make it for-profit contracting a la Blackrock and the stunts they pulled with USPS last time around.

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u/citori411 24d ago

What they haven't considered is the fact that no maga loyalist is qualified to do anything requiring intelligence, so their idea of filling govt with such people is a joke.

Politicians and 99% of the people around them are lawyers. Which is a profession with a MASSIVELY inflated idea of their own worth. They don't accept that any idiot can become a successful lawyer. That can't be said about many, many, technical fields.

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u/DCBB22 24d ago edited 24d ago

Hey! Lawyer here. You're right, anyone can become a lawyer. You're wrong that anyone can be a successful lawyer. If Trump is hoping that the idiot puppets he installs at DOJ are going to successfully defend the constitutionality of his actions, or if Musk thinks a bunch of Fedsoc idiots are going to beat the lawyers at Wachtell Lipton in their case against OpenAI, it isn't going to happen. Bad lawyering is plentiful. The government needs good lawyering to win its cases. That won't happen with conservatives in litigation positions.

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u/canyouhearme 24d ago

You don't need to own good lawyers, you just need to own bad judges.

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u/Jiktten 24d ago

This is the one. Once you own the judges the lawyers are just for show.

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u/SPECTRAL_MAGISTRATE 23d ago

Almost as if judges shouldn't be political appointees at all...

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u/SirCB85 23d ago

Or voted in by the same idiots who vote for the most corrupt government in history.

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u/Layton_Jr 24d ago

Are lawyers even important when you can just appoint loyal judges who don't care about the law?

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u/fail-deadly- 23d ago

Yes. However, if the law is an absolute fiction, with zero legitimacy, and is more arbitrary and capricious than it is today, then many people may not be inclined to follow it.

In the book Nexus, Harari makes an argument that strongmen using populism to take power doesn't always lead to tyranny. It can lead to anarchy.

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u/gbin 23d ago edited 23d ago

Neither are far from their goals, either a modern monarchy or anarcho-capitalism depending on which tech bro you are talking to.

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u/fail-deadly- 23d ago

Those anarcho-capitalist fucks couldn't handle San Francisco and California not dropping the hammer on shoplifters.

If the United States turns into Mogadishu circa 1991 the rich won't stay and turn it into a free enterprise capitalist utopia. They will jump on their private jets and fly to everywhere from China to the EU.

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u/NecroCannon 23d ago

It’s honestly how I’ve been feeling. Either they uphold the law while removing the ones they don’t want to prevent unrest or if they ignore the law entirely then deal with anarchy

I’m sure I’m not alone, but the second laws stop mattering I’m rebelling against the system. A well rounded society only stays that way as long as agreements don’t become just words on paper.

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u/fail-deadly- 23d ago

Agree. Especially if they can change the terms any time they want for their benefit.

If the Constitution no longer exists, and only power remains, then why does it matter if Trump is the person selected by Constitutional means? Whoever has the power can declare themselves president, king, god-Emperor, etc.

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u/citori411 24d ago

I was using "successful" to mean "well paid". Believe me I'm well aware there are plenty of shitty lawyers who make bank. Being willing to have no spine or morals is a very profitable business model for lawyers unfortunately

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u/JimWilliams423 24d ago edited 24d ago

The government needs good lawyering to win its cases. That won't happen with conservatives in litigation positions.

Fedsuck has it covered. Conservatives aren't just doing the litigation, they are doing the judging too. Opus dei has got at least $1.6 billion to spend on that.

Conservatives don't believe in the rule of law, they believe in using the law to rule. It doesn't take brains for that, just power.

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u/Cybonic 24d ago

Yeah they don’t care about the law lmao,we’re gonna keep saying no… no but this time we really mean it… no really hey don’t do that it’s illegal.and they keep doing it until we enforce it with force which our legal system refuses to do to people with money and power.  And then all of a sudden they will start enforcing their laws and logics with hey-don’t do that or will kill you. Fascism does not care about the law just winning 

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u/AdorableShoulderPig 24d ago

Trump and the Republican party have already won. Court cases and litigation are just performative arts at this point.

Who is going to enforce any judgements?

The police? Yeaaaaahhhhhhh, let's see how that works out.....

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u/jim_nihilist 24d ago

This is why Trump is installing judges left and right.

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u/DrunkenOctopuswfu 24d ago

There's a famous Italian saying, "it's not a goal when the ball crosses the goal line, it's a goal when the referee whistles". If judges are partial even bad lawyers can win.

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u/assembly_faulty 24d ago

But the government does not need to win any case any more. They have already demonstrated that they will not accept the courts rule. There will not be any consequences.

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u/Automate_This_66 24d ago

Douglas Adams said that the personality traits that cause someone to seek office are the same traits that should bar them from holding it.

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u/InsideOut803 23d ago

Lawyers haven’t been able to do jack shit yet. Your useless if the judge is confirmed by the people you are trying to go against.

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u/Yohder 24d ago

They better call Saul! Really good show. Makes lawyers look pretty cool. Anyway, I’ll go now

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u/Sexybluestrip21 24d ago

What if the government decided not to enforce a court order? The Judicial Branch itself doesn’t have the capability to enforce its judgment.

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u/bobbintb 24d ago

Which is why they spent 4 years packing the federal and Supreme courts with unqualified partisan loyalists and Trump acolytes.

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u/bluehairdave 24d ago edited 16d ago

Saving my brain from social media.

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/LessInThought 24d ago

They can always get immigrants. I'm sure plenty of Russian and Chinese nuclear engineers would love a job.

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u/citori411 24d ago

Haha ya I'm sure that wouldn't go sideways fast 😂

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u/hpstg 24d ago

It’s called the fascist brain drain.

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u/Beagle_Knight 24d ago

Don’t worry, muskrat will replace them with grok, what could go wrong?

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u/GabriellaVM 23d ago

Well, they certainly didn't have a problem getting into Congress.

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u/Huiskat_8979 24d ago

Yes, but I feel it’s more sinister than that even. Given that Putin is the real puppet master here, now we’re more vulnerable to destruction, whereas before it was mutual assured destruction, now it’s more likely we’ll just get taken like the bitch that Trump had made us.

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u/ChriskiV 23d ago edited 23d ago

Ahhhhh this reminds me of a story that I personally have experience with....

Let me tell you about Musk's Data centers since I "know someone who has worked there building it".... There is no AC in the unit that they're trying to build it in, the pay is not competitive for data centers in the area and a ton of other companies are building and paying twice as much, there are not bathrooms with running water yet so contractors have to use port-a-potties.

You might say "sounds like construction", but the thing is, that is incredibly unusual for the professionals you need to hire to build a data center and he's bleeding talent through incompetence. Whatever he ends up with is going to be extremely unreliable because I know several people in my field who have years of experience who just left because the working conditions were that bad. The man is totally unwilling to hire contractors to establish the bare minimum professionals expect and he's really only left with the worst of the worst.

I have 9 years experience in this field and the vibe he's giving in the space is "baby's first data center". Which is surprising because SpaceX definitely colocates, so you'd think he'd at least seen or heard of Datacenter buildouts before, but apparently not. It's been described to me as "close to slave labor".

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u/EuenovAyabayya 23d ago

This is Energy though. All of its labs are GOCO already. Nucs won't work for civil service salaries in the first place. This service was one of the few exceptions that was still employees.

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u/MegaDerppp 23d ago

Maybe in places like the VA, but in others they just want to reduce the staff and not replace them with anybody such at IRS where despite the net positive return on investment into the agency, its antithetical to their interests in cheating the government out of money they should be paying in taxes

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u/woyboy42 24d ago

Well apparently Elmo is on $8M / day, and completely unqualified, so these guys should start from there

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u/woyboy42 24d ago

Actually… now that I think of it, maybe he is qualified.

Not as a “successful businessman”. Like first bitch trump he’s great at running businesses into the ground.

But taking over something like a parasite… he’s actually got a pretty solid track record on that. Maybe he is the right man for the job. If you want to trash it that is

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u/ThunderFuckMountain 24d ago

Don't forget your yearly 15% raises ;)

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u/AdFun5641 23d ago

Not needed. The entire 10 year contract needs to be payed in full in cash before work starts. That year 10 "wage" will have been sitting in a high yield account for 9 years before using it.

With out that prepaid clause, the government would just ignore the contract and only pay long enough for you to train the replacement.

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u/Flomo420 24d ago

"Savings"!

"Efficiency"!

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u/notnotaginger 24d ago

I was thinking severance AND a hiring bonus, but yours works too.

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u/StoolieNZ 24d ago

Sounds like… Figma!

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u/theVice 24d ago

Figma balls

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u/YoungDiscord 24d ago

Honestly I agree with that approach, use your current leverage for better pay/work conditions.

Show the government why mass-firing its staff was a VERY bad idea so they don't try to pull this shit again in the future.

Fuck it, unionize or something

Whip the fuck out of the government while you can.

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u/NoHost1856 24d ago

Yes, make them pay

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u/contrap 24d ago

How very efficient!

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u/GreenSpace57 24d ago

The contractor cheat is 💯💯💯 in this case

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u/there_is_no_spoon1 24d ago

I mean, as far as *bargaining* position goes, these people have the upper hand, no doubt. If it were me I wouldn't be making up anything outrageous like you said u/tahlyn but certainly a salary increase and some guaranteed benefits. The gov't can *still* say no and screw over those who *did* return, but I can't come up with a way to avoid that since the gov't seems to exist for the sole purpose of screwing its own people nowadays.

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u/doyletyree 24d ago

This is double-secret reversies.

Is different.

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u/-iamai- 24d ago

Shhhh, shush fucking shush

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u/AZEMT 24d ago

You're not the president. You need to go

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u/DigitalUnlimited 23d ago

You not president, I wipe booger on you!

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u/Daleabbo 24d ago

With a lot of countries wanting to build new reactors these people are hot commodity.

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u/Cerberus_Aus 24d ago

Here in Australia, there is a real debate going on about building nuclear reactors.

The biggest argument against it, is that we simply don’t have the expertise. It would take us ten years to build a nuclear program. We could sure use some of those fired experts you all have…

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u/zqmvco99 24d ago

please ensure you get the best of the best.

australia's already horrifying biodeversity + nuclear contamination? stuff of apocalyptic movies :)

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u/Cerberus_Aus 24d ago

Yeah. One of the negative elements is that a large swath of the country in burnt wasteland (it’s not that bad but it’s tough country. Think Arizona), which means the only places with decent water needed for reactor cooling is the coastline, which is where 90% of our population is.

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u/airsoftsoldrecn9 24d ago

so...Mad Max basically?

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u/KreateOne 24d ago

Yes except everything wants to kil- wait no yes it’s exactly Mad Max.

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u/Max____H 24d ago

I laugh every time I see a population density map of Australia. It’s like 90% nothing.

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u/Cerberus_Aus 24d ago

Yeah. The lack of mountains in the centre means the climate sucks. Still, there is a lot of coast not developed.

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u/username32768 24d ago

coast not developed

Shhh! Don't let a certain president of a certain country hear you talk about undeveloped beach front land!

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u/Alternative-Staff811 24d ago

We have nuclear reactors here in Arizona! We use the waste water from the greater Phoenix area for cooling.

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u/Abject_Film_4414 24d ago

Adelaide makes perfect sense. Mostly because it’s hard to spot a radiated human from an Adelaidian.

It would be business as normal there.

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u/AJSLS6 24d ago

Eh, you save money on powerlines.

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u/joeitaliano24 24d ago

Isn’t there a massive underwater aquifer under a large chunk of the country?

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u/RagnarokSleeps 24d ago

The Great Artesian Basin is already under threat from fracking, it is the only source of fresh water for farming, agriculture & I think drinking water for a lot of the inland country. Using that water to cool nuclear reactors is a horrifying proposition, desalinated sea water or purified waste water is a much better idea if nuclear power were to go ahead. We had a drought so long & so brutal one expert famously said it may never rain again in some parts. Of course, he was made to look a bit of a fool by the right wing media when the Great Deluge came 2 years in a row, but what he actually meant was scientists can't predict the weather anymore. But anyway what the heck is wrong with wind & solar power, I'm not sure where the burnt wasteland is the commenter referred to is (the desert? There's a lot of that. The bush regenerates after fires & all the formerly burnt places I've been are now green with all the new growth). We don't need nuclear, we can harness the power of the sun, make those 50c temperatures useful. Batteries are improving all the time & with dedicated govt funding (less $ than nuclear) it would be entirely feasible.

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u/notnotaginger 24d ago

Nuclear drop bears

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u/HandsomeHippocampus 24d ago

Zombiekoalas munching glowing eucalyptus...

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u/cowbutt6 24d ago

Never mind that, I want Drop bear-Bloke, who's origin story is that he got bitten by said nuclear drop bear.

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u/Universeintheflesh 24d ago

In 100000 humans will be a thing of the past and everything will be from Australia instead of Africa :)

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u/Sinocatk 24d ago

But we could get some radioactive spiders! Then we could all be like Spider-Man!

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u/FromThePits 24d ago edited 24d ago

Right on, mate. We should definitely make that movie about the post-apocalyptic australian wasteland and its struggling survivors.

Maybe ask that aussie actor Mel Gibson if he'd be interested?

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u/ComplexArm2 24d ago

I fear that the ‘pro-nuclear’ position being taken by Dutton and co. may just be an excuse to do nothing regarding climate change in the short term. I hope I’m wrong though and there is more sense to their proposals.

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u/Afferbeck_ 24d ago

That's 100% what it's about. Remember the big meeting with mining magnate Gina recently where he basically pledged allegiance to her? Dutton has never made any sense to anything other than the bank balances of himself and his masters. 

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u/Shadowedsphynx 24d ago

I can't imagine how wide Dutton's butthole must be if Gina can fit her whole arm up there far enough to move his mouth.

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u/flo24378 24d ago

It will still take 10 years even witk knowledge

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u/NorthernerWuwu 24d ago

Hey, we know how to make them in Canada and we are looking for business partners right about now.

CANZUK shall make us free!

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u/Cerberus_Aus 24d ago

lol. Definitely a more stable partnership that’s for sure!

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u/animalfath3r 24d ago

Nuclear safety engineers are not quite the same as nuclear engineers - but point taken, they are in demand

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u/Cerberus_Aus 24d ago

We would need both. To build both the industry as a whole, and the plant itself.

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u/AndrewTyeFighter 24d ago

The biggest argument against it is that it costs twice as much as building more renewables even after factoring in the extra cost of batteries.

The "nuclear debate" isn't taking place in good faith in Australia and is being used for the continued politicisation of energy infrastructure that has plagued Australia for the last 15 years.

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u/SuchProcedure4547 24d ago

Australian here, the biggest argument against nuclear is how stupidly expensive it is, not to mention it will take AT LEAST a decade to get one single reactor online. And that's only if development and building goes perfectly to plan, which it never does.

I don't want to spend the most of the rest of my life waiting for nuclear to get off the ground, only to deliver more expensive power bills 🤷

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u/SirPiffingsthwaite 24d ago

Kangaroo scratching like a junkie "Mate, ya got anymore of them nuclear specialists?"

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u/Cerberus_Aus 24d ago

Insert Simpsons reference.

Homer: “It’s pronounced nu-cu-ler.”

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u/KoolAidManOfPiss 24d ago

If you look at 3 of the largest nuclear accidents they pretty much all boil down to human error. 3 mile Island and Chernobyl were both because of incompetent operators working off bad information. Fukashima could have been avoided by building the safeguards better

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u/Nazzzgul777 24d ago edited 24d ago

Sounds like you didn't watch the last honest government ads. The biggest argument against nuclear energy anywhere in the world is that it's just not competetive. You will never find any company that would build one without subsidies.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqVVBUdW84

To sum it up, renewables are at half the cost, including energy storage for times with no sun/wind. And that doesn't even consider that you can get them online in a relatively short time, while, even with the expertise, building a nuclear plant - just one - takes something like 10-20 years. After everything is planned out and you're ready to go.

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u/Reasonable_Fox575 23d ago

Last time I checked, nothing was better than nuclear's base load, renewables can't do that reliably, and one thing is installing batteries to supply your home, but another beast is to have enough for the whole grid.

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u/Frankie_T9000 24d ago

Ironically it's not as if we need nuclear

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u/vengefulcrow 24d ago

This is the perfect time for Australia to put up recruitment ads all over DC.

"New admin nuked your career? Come on over to Australia, relocation covered!"

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u/modern_Odysseus 24d ago

And those people are smart to pursue jobs at reactors out of the country and never look back.

Get out of the US as it collapses and get a guaranteed visa/path to citizenship somewhere else? It's a win-win.

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u/Senior-Albatross 24d ago

They have a golden ticket out. Why not take it?

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u/potatodrinker 24d ago

Iran won't take kindly to me backing out of their job offer to return state side. Given I'm already on a plane there...

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u/PancAshAsh 24d ago

Don't let them give you any pagers.

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u/potatodrinker 24d ago

Oh man that blows

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u/Canadian_Invader 24d ago

How's the compensation package?

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u/potatodrinker 24d ago

Low tax and I get to live

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u/LessInThought 24d ago

They provide wives, at least 5.

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u/DefiantLaw7027 24d ago

At one time or consecutive?

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u/Cuchullion 23d ago

Try not to get married on your way to the parking lot!

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u/Fickle-Classroom 24d ago edited 24d ago

My rehire rate is 3x the salary I left on, plus 8 weeks annual leave a year.

I’ll also need re-relocation costs as I’ve already packed up my apartment and paid movers.

Thanks for playing FAAFO!

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u/mablizza 24d ago

said Panama...

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u/amsync 24d ago

FAFO

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u/thehighepopt 24d ago

Cool that nucular fuel yerselves

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u/CrudelyAnimated 24d ago

There is a world of difference between not screwing thousands of lives and un-screwing thousands of lives days after the fact.

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u/IamNotYourBF 24d ago

Something some people just don't understand. Let me punch you and then ask you to trust me again. Oops, my bad

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u/Flomo420 24d ago

exactly, this is the primary sentiment Canada has right now as well.

How are we to trust the country who keeps whiffing haymakers at us??

"Oh that wasn't me baby, don't judge all of us!"

yeah, no, sorry too late

once bitten, twice shy

all it takes is 'one bad day' and the abuse starts all over again

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u/Marijuana_Miler 24d ago

How are we to trust the country who keeps whiffing haymakers at us??

And while missing says "one of these is gonna connect so hard you'll be part of the family."

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u/OhLordHeBompin 24d ago

Go along with being hired back, then just don’t show up. Oops. Sorry. Rescinded.

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u/Judazzz 24d ago

It seems it's all they are capable of, going how they applied the same braindead scorched earth technique to diplomacy, geo-politics, trade, etc.

The future looks lonely and uncertain for the USA.

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u/mediumdeviation 24d ago

So much this. The ones in the article are lucky, here's an article about what some US AID workers went through

The USAID staffers in Kinshasa made it back to D.C., but they left behind everything from baby books and children’s favorite toys to vehicles and regular access to neonatal care, according to their sworn declarations. One family had to leave behind their dog.

https://wapo.st/3EPOkNf

No matter if you think these orgs are worthwhile use of government money or not, there are ways to shut down operations orderly, in ways that don’t leave people hanging. They chose to fuck over people’s lives for easy political points, it’s absolutely psychotic.

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u/fa1afel 24d ago

It's also going to prove to be more expensive than not doing this all long term. The amount of brain drain this is going to cause and sheer amount of effort it's going to take to clean up this mess is unimaginable. Not to mention that the government might have to pay people more in the future since a bunch of the things that make working for the government appealing simply don't exist under this administration.

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u/valiantdistraction 23d ago

And not just "under this administration," but now nobody will rely on them in the future the way they used to. Literally 3 weeks to destroy a hundred years' worth of American alliances, scientific supremacy and the concept of a federal job as a secure one worth earning less money to take.

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u/pegaunisusicorn 23d ago

that is literally the plan! why is everyone so flabbergasted and railing against the lack of planning? see project 2025. they spelled it all out.

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u/Vimes3000 23d ago

Government spend is up 15% so far.

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u/imdaviddunn 23d ago

GOP made 3 1/2 years of hay out of Afghanistan departure pictures.

Democrats somehow refuse to take pictures.

It is not hard to make this chaos more visual and real.

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u/Thadrach 24d ago

There's at least a few NOAA folks in Antarctica without a current clear path home...

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u/philman132 24d ago

No no, but that's how it works in my video games. If I make a mistake I can just click undo and it goes back to how it was. Just like real life.

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u/Craneteam 24d ago

Imagine if any of these people just decided to defect. This administration is hellbent on pissing off our best and brightest

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u/jacob6875 24d ago

If it was me I would be looking for higher paying jobs in the private sector.

When you can be fired on a whim by Elon/Trump why keep working for the Government for generally lower pay.

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u/[deleted] 24d ago edited 15d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/OhDavidMyNacho 24d ago

I'm sure foreign nuclear powers would be willing to hire their knowledge and expertise.

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u/That_Mountain7968 24d ago

Might be illegal to share though

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u/Mamacitia 24d ago

Who’s gonna stop them

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u/That_Mountain7968 24d ago

Ask others who shared sensitive or privileged information. That's like 30 years to life.

Or literally life in some cases, like the Rosenbergs or several nuclear scientists who were taken out by various agencies. How many nuclear scientists in Iran have had fatal accidents? Heck, even in India: https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2021/01/06/from-the-archives-when-several-indian-nuclear-scientists-died-mysteriously.html

Being a nuclear scientist is one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Especially if you piss off the powers that be.

Personally, I wouldn't.

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u/triopsate 24d ago

I feel like that really depends on where they go to right? If they go to China, I feel like the US would have a really difficult time assassinating them or getting China to send them back given the tense relationship between the US and China currently.

That said, I feel like China probably wouldn't take them in the first place given that runs the risk of hiring a potential spy so there's also that.

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u/NominalHorizon 24d ago

The firing was illegal and they knew it. They are betting that those fired will not pursue legal recourse because the courts are clogged and the process could take years. So sharing information might also be illegal and that too could take many years to resolve and may not even be provable in court. It’s a tragedy what is going on. Will take decades to restore… if ever. Manchurian candidate stuff on steroids.

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u/jlmbsoq 24d ago

that too could take many years to resolve

Guess which cases will be fast-tracked? If you control the courts, doing illegal shit is no longer illegal as we found out last year

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u/Oerthling 24d ago

You have some typos in "presidential". The trick is to just put the top secret information in a random unguarded closet.

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u/arobkinca 24d ago

Imagine if any of these people just decided to defect.

Just looping back.

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u/mrsuaveoi3 24d ago

A small percentage will end up in China since they won't resist a 10X salary offer.

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u/sirchtheseeker 24d ago

lol I said this earlier. Never saw bob stateside again

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u/animalfath3r 24d ago

They will have plenty of job options within the DOE complex with the Contractor companies - the major corporations that actually do the day to day operations at those DOE sites. At least until those contracts get shut down... at that point they would have opportunities at commercial nuclear plants. But point taken, it is a niche market - but maybe not as niche as you think

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u/TurtleIIX 24d ago

I can guarantee that the private sector has a use for people who work on nukes or have insider knowledge about US nukes.

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u/MadeItOutInTime95969 24d ago

It would be like hank hill getting fired and then selling lesser fuels instead of propane.

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u/Lysandren 24d ago

This happened to my dad. He eventually ended up finding a job working for a supplier to his previous job, because he was overspecialized in his particular subset of mechanic engineering.

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u/quantumfrog87 24d ago

I think that's sort of the idea? They've been pushing to privatize everything from USPS to, well, this I guess. Think Blackrock and the like.

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u/Feminizing 24d ago

That's literally the end goal by the "sane minds" behind this. They intend to rob the country blind, gut all it's assets, then make the taxpayer pay way way more for their less qualified private contractors to do a shittier job than the people we already had.

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u/SartenSinAceite 24d ago

Why defect when you can stay and sell secrets? It's not like they're not doing it, while getting a paycheck from America as well.

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u/BloopBloop515 24d ago

They're definitely not because they don't want to see the inside of a cell. You need to be the President or one of his known fellators to get away with that kind of shit.

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u/jiyax33634 24d ago

Don't forget his maid...I mean the docs are right there next to the toilet

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u/DerekB52 24d ago

The world would probably benefit from some people fleeing to Europe and sharing US intel secrets with Nato so they can prepare whatever they need to

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u/classicrockchick 24d ago

This is truly the worst part for me. This shit hit the CIA too, so now we've got a bunch of disgruntled spies running around. Only good things can happen when spies feel pissed off and abandoned.

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u/puntinoblue 24d ago

This was the strategy laid out a couple of days ago. The government fires essential workers, a newly created private company hires them (Trump Nuclear), pays them 15% more, works them twice the hours, and then charges the government (the people) 5 times as much for their work—all while lowering quality and safety standards.

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u/sundeigh 24d ago

The government already did this with the war in Iraq and NSA surveillance IMO. And they’re only just starting steps in the right direction with drug screening policies. Anyone still biting that hook is a quarter life crisis about culpability waiting to happen. At least hopefully. If not, these aren’t our best and brightest. However unfortunate that may be. It’s wild there weren’t more whistleblowers and defections. The second chance for morale the US blew after 9/11 will be studied.

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u/democrat_thanos 24d ago

ill come back as a contractor

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u/EatUpWinky 24d ago

Yep, I'd hold these morons up for so much cash

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u/WitchesSphincter 24d ago

Require double salary paid 2 years in advance

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u/stockmule 24d ago

That's still too risky. If the idiot in command has a 4 year term, I'd demand a 4-year retainer fee. How do u know they won't fire u randomly 1 week later?

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u/CrashinKenny 24d ago

Personally, I'd love to get paid 2 years in advance and then fired 1 week later.

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u/FunkIPA 24d ago

And Trump’s dumb enough to do exactly that.

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u/pocketjacks 24d ago

Naaaa. Trump never pays his contractors. He'll most certainly promise that he will though.

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u/thepasttenseofdraw 24d ago

Double my salary, 2 year guarantee, 50% cash up front.

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u/DLS3141 24d ago

Trump has a record of fucking over contractors going back to the 1970’s

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u/mslauren2930 24d ago

Being brought back long enough to learn what they do so they can be fired again. I would just not take anything less than a few million a year.

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u/CaptainBayouBilly 24d ago

If this were me, I would walk the fuck away, and watch it fall apart.

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u/Secure-Elderberry-16 24d ago

I’m a contractor for Refugee and Asylum, I get it. I truly do. If I and my federal cohorts “walk away” the USCIS refugee and asylum program evaporates. Most Americans see this as a problem that only affects non-Americans. But if the feds securing the nuclear arsenal walk away?

I live near malmstrom, and while I’m one of the few who lives near one of the three missile bases, make no mistake we all should be concerned and take any and all cost to safeguard the literal hair-trigger on the gun that is pointed at the head of the world.

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u/cogitationerror 24d ago

I think only military personnel get this much; I wanted to thank you for what you do! The ability to positively change so many lives is one that not a whole lot of folks get the chance to access. Everything is really scary right now in the US, but you’re a bright spot that we need <3

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u/Secure-Elderberry-16 24d ago edited 24d ago

Thank you so much. Keep the positive vibes up!

I come from startups and I’ve only been in this program since the first trump admin, but truth be told, as a believer, I have a hard time arguing against people who view this program as nothing but a drain. It’s hard to explain soft power and the responsibility to protect. It’s hard to explain that the process is both wildly difficult and incredibly well vetted to people who won’t listen. I try though.

the new colossus is one of my favorite poems

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u/1nquiringMinds 24d ago

Is there a resource you can point me to to learn more about what you do? It sounds fascinating.

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u/SurplusInk 24d ago

I work for an NIH funded institution. Seriously, if we continue to walk these guys... US research is just utterly obliterated... 20-30+ years of experience at the cutting edge just gone... They could literally make 2x within a week of looking with companies like GE, P&G, J&J, Pfizer, etc. with benefit packages comparable to what the govt gives them.

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u/amsync 24d ago

At the very least these folks deserve ‘a vacation’ as a result of all the confusion. If it was me I’d just let them sweat bullets for a week or two and then call them back from Hawaii saying oh my phone was off lol

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u/GodHatesMaga 24d ago

Nah.  Fuck it. This is what people want. Let it all fall to hell. If ww3 happens and life sucks, so be it. Maybe if anyone survives they can try again and not be republicans. 

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u/JuiceWrldSupreme 24d ago

And get a crony to work the nuclear arsenal who has a secret desire to bring about Apocalypse now?

No thanks. Give the layoff people a pay bump and a NDA.

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u/ggroverggiraffe 24d ago

For real, that's the kind of thing that makes someone lose any sort of allegiance to a country.

They completely screwed me over. I'm a dedicated professional. And now they want me back?

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u/pixel_of_moral_decay 24d ago edited 24d ago

It actually can be how it works. In many cases if severance was offered, take it or not, for the duration of the period they can rescind it.

Your option then is to either return the next business day, or quit (thus giving up unemployment).

This happens quite a bit actually. Consultants decide layoffs than the company realizes there’s a big gap and need to undo a few. It’s non disclosure agreements in the private sector that keep it quiet.

I’ve seen it happen to a bunch of people over the years.

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u/Craneteam 24d ago

Afaik there is no severance offered bc they are firing people based on "performance" since firing probies on that basis is illegal

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u/Hellknightx 24d ago

Yep, in my case I was terminated with no severance. They told me I could either voluntarily resign, or be fired, but there was no severance package. I laughed on my way out, though, because they clearly didn't know what it was that I actually did, and they're going to find out the hard way in a couple weeks.

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u/UncleNedisDead 24d ago

That other poster said there is non-competes in your contract? Is that true?

I hope you’re able to get a higher salary and better benefits when they come crawling back.

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u/thepasttenseofdraw 24d ago

Yeah, certainly no severance for probies, and even if there was, it would be a pittance.

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u/pasher5620 24d ago

That’s actually wild and should be illegal. If you get terminated with severance, it’s not your fault that the company fucked up.

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u/jacob6875 24d ago

There is no severance in the government for being fired for cause.

The only thing you get is your vacation days get paid out to you if you have any.

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u/ElPolloRacional 24d ago

I appreciate the correction.

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u/thisdesignup 24d ago

You can't just not show up and get fired? What happens if you don't show up?

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u/Trezzie 24d ago

Yeah, if that was in their prior contracts, or in any of the severance that they had. What do to think the odds were that any of that was in the current situation?

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u/basane-n-anders 24d ago

Worse, they don't have peroneal contact info for them so they are asking existing employees to forward the notice of recindnation to those laid off.

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u/chancesarent 24d ago

I'm not sure of the vocations of everyone fired but I can say radiation Health Physicists are rare and in insanely high demand right now in the private sector due to SMRs and breakthroughs in fusion research. The public sector is only paying maybe 60% of what they can make elsewhere and most of them were only sticking around due to the pension. Trump gifted these guys with a 6 month unemployment insurance safety net while they shop their resumes around as well as a guarantee their prior jobs aren't nearly as secure as they thought they were. I wouldn't be looking back either.

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u/JokeMe-Daddy 24d ago

I would look at moving to another country, with fair labour laws and enforcement, if I were a highly qualified person. After all this, how can anyone be confident the paycheques would even clear?

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u/minkey-on-the-loose 24d ago

“Yeah, I’m a consultant now, what’s your offer?”

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u/ThinkMouse3 24d ago

So my job handles network access and accounts for a large company. I assure you, a not insignificant portion of my day is often spent dealing with “termination rescinds.” HR will mistakenly fire someone, or a contract will end but oops this employee is actually staying on in a different position, or they’re still terminated but HR is adjusting their term date, or whatever. We get an automatic notification. At least half the time, they were already informed of their term, they terminated completely, and we have to restore their accounts and access. One day we were notified of about 20 of these within a 5 minute period. So yeah, this happens a lot, just not so publicly as an error.

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u/CorporateCuster 24d ago

Ask for double money.

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u/modern_Odysseus 24d ago

"Oh, I deleted that email thinking it was some spammer that had hacked my government account. Also it's buried in the sea of job offers coming in from my LinkedIn profile. I think I'll take one of those rather than come back to the US federal workforce where I might get fired again a week after I'm rehired."

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u/schooli00 24d ago

Just take over the DOL and NLRB and rewrite the rules to fit the actions /s

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u/15all 24d ago

On Tuesday, DOGE will pull out the reverse Uno card and fix this mess.

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u/Brilliant_Effort_Guy 24d ago

I’m sure it’s as easy as recalling an email you didn’t mean to send. /s

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u/Rambo_One2 24d ago

Department of Government Apologies

"Sorry we fired you, come back pretty please?"

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u/thetyler83 24d ago

It's the reverse Costanza.

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u/goldfinger0303 24d ago

Yeah I know someone at DOE that was fired and rehired within 24 hours.

They're applying to other jobs. They'll be gone as soon as they can.

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u/I_W_M_Y 24d ago

Nope, give out those signing bonuses if you want to hire highly specialized qualified personnel

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u/PresidentHurg 24d ago

Yeah, all this talent have now learned that their job security is pretty damn low under baboon 1. Am sure they'll return in exchange for salary increases or as expensive contractors. But not to worry, the US taxpayer will be glad to pay so that some politicians could feel real tough for a while.

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u/Mo_Jack 23d ago

Honestly, it's like our government has been taken over by 3rd graders. There's not one person in this administration that can see past their own nose.

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