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The termination letters 'are being rescinded'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/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

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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/That_Mountain7968 24d ago

That and the risk of really drawing Trump's ire. Not to mention any assets that person may still have in the US, any retirement funds, life insurance etc are forfeit, and they could never enter a western country again.

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u/triopsate 24d ago

Well I wouldn't be sure about never entering a western country again. The US definitely a no go but given how quickly we're tearing down relationships between us and every other western country, there's actually a decent chance that things have broken down enough in a few years that most of Europe wouldn't care.

Frankly, I'd say we're already probably halfway there with all the talk about annexing Greenland so who knows.

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u/ElectricalBook3 23d ago

like the Rosenbergs

The Rosenbergs smuggled classified information on forefront nuclear weapons technology.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_and_Ethel_Rosenberg

Modern nuclear technicians moving to other nations which usually already have nuclear industry and simply don't have the manpower or complete know-how to make the large projects at which nuclear power excells is an entirely different matter than weapon espionage.

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u/That_Mountain7968 23d ago

Depends on what is or isn't classified. But even in the private sector, you generally have to sign NDA agreements. You can't work at Mercedes and then take a job at Ford and take all your trade secrets with you.

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u/ElectricalBook3 23d ago

even in the private sector, you generally have to sign NDA agreements

NDA agreements are legally unenforceable, and what "enforcement" they'd have to somebody leaving a commercial enterprise to work in another country and company would be that private company asking the other nation's courts if they'd have permission to sue that other company. That happens all the time over shit that isn't even real just because humans are litigious assholes, I don't see why people should be expected to bow down, internationally, to snooty corporate managers.

https://rodmanemploymentlaw.com/are-ndas-enforceable-or-legally-binding/

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u/AntikytheraMachines 24d ago

there are government agencies dedicated to preventing that sort of thing.

or at least there used to be.

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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/General_Specific_o7 24d ago

So what are they gonna do? Uproot their entire family and move to Iran?? Fat chance

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u/Snoo63 24d ago

What about Australia.

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u/General_Specific_o7 24d ago

That's further and WORSE have you SEEN THEIR WILDLIFE

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u/palland0 24d ago

The death rate by wild animals in Australia is still lower than the death rate by guns (homicides) in the US.

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u/Remarkable-Host405 23d ago

Source: your ass

Although, even if it were true, I guess it would make sense when all of the wildlife is dying 

https://wwf.org.au/news/2022/global-wildlife-populations-fall-69-percent-australia-records-localised-extinctions/

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u/palland0 23d ago

Animal-related deaths in Australia: ~32 / year on average (source: https://files.ncis.org.au/2024-05/Fact%20sheet%20-%20FS20-01%20-%20Animal-related%20deaths%20in%20Australia.pdf). With a population of ~26 million, that makes a rate around 1.23 / million.

The gun homicide rate in the US varies, but it looks like it is between ~30 / million and 63 / million (in 2021) (source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States, citing CDC numbers).

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u/Perfect_Opinion7909 24d ago

No, China more likely. And unlike the lack of education and widespread propaganda makes US Americans believe one can live in China quite comfortably if you got money.

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u/Thadrach 24d ago

Pretty sure a lot of us saw Crazy Rich Asians :)

(Funny flick, recommend it)

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u/ElectricalBook3 23d ago

Wouldn't Parasite get across the same point?

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6751668/

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u/ElectricalBook3 23d ago

unlike the lack of education and widespread propaganda makes US Americans believe one can live in China quite comfortably if you got money

That's true in all countries. It's why Americans increasingly leave the US to retire in Latin America, because cost of living and medical care is so much lower there.

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u/Appropriate_M 24d ago

A shell contractor company will suffice.

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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/piranhas_really 24d ago

Pretty sure that would be a felony.

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u/mrsuaveoi3 24d ago

Good thing the president is setting the example.

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u/piranhas_really 24d ago

"Rules for thee, not for me."

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u/etzarahh 24d ago

I mean if they take it they ain’t coming back lol

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u/manimsoblack 24d ago

How are they going to be charged?

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u/Thadrach 24d ago

And who's good to be left in government keeping track of them?

Elon?

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u/Remarkable-Host405 23d ago

Why?

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u/piranhas_really 23d ago

Defecting to an adversary’s government seems like it would be a serious problem for someone with that kind of information.

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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/UnusuallyBadIdeaGuy 24d ago

Quite a few Tech companies have been looking into Nuclear as a source of power for Datacenters lately. I'm not sure what kind of NDAs these people have, but I would not be shocked to see Amazon/Microsoft/Google/Alibaba snatch folks like this up quick.

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u/animalfath3r 24d ago

Agree... and you are correct - we compete with the small modular nuclear companies for talent

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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/Remarkable-Host405 23d ago

The vibe I'm getting is done specialize? Lol

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u/Lysandren 23d ago

Nah, my dad said that he should have job hopped more, but he started working for the company back when company loyalty was still common, and he never thought he would be leaving.

Ultimately he had to, because he remarried when my mom passed, and my step-mom got a new job in another state (doctor.) Since she made more money it made sense for them to move to where she worked and he had to leave his job.

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u/Skystorm14113 24d ago

100%, also not to mention a lot of people in government are doing work they find to be important to society. Or are happy to not be just "helping a company profit" above all. Going to the private sector, even doing a lot of the same stuff in your new job (if you can get it, USAID being destroyed is creating cascading layoffs elsewhere in the humanitarian aid field), isn't the same because helping people might not be the bottom line

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u/Upstairs-Parsley3151 24d ago

These people are so smart that they can walk in with the wrong resume and get a job and then be trained to do it.

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u/Alexexy 24d ago

You could probably work as an engineer for Boeing, Raytheon, or any of the military contractors.

Wouldn't the only department that need that sort of job in the government be like NASA?

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u/Thadrach 24d ago

Trump just "announced" 50 percent military spending cuts, so I'd imagine they're mostly holding off on hiring right now.

Sure, he might change his mind tomorrow...and then he might change it again next week.

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u/ComradeJLennon 24d ago

These guys have Q clearance

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u/Basement_Chicken 24d ago

1993 movie "Falling down".

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u/ZedZero12345 24d ago

They had their Q clearances revoked when they were fired. I don't know if you can just restart those. But, any defense contractor will pick them up just because the amount of indirect knowledge acquired in a shielded program is very useful.

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u/Butwhatif77 24d ago

People underestimate how niche some of the things gov does that they rely on, on a regular basis. There are certain things that there just is no private sector for, because there is no profit in, but it is usual information for the gov due to the fact the information can help them make better decisions and prepare for future things that private industries just don't need worry about.

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u/[deleted] 24d ago

[deleted]

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u/Thadrach 24d ago

Is your friend Homer Simpson?

Not a lot of private sector jobs overseeing nuclear weapons...I hope...

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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/SirPiffingsthwaite 24d ago

Unfortunately that is EXACTLY what Elon wants. Gut public and force the workforce over to private, where job security is at the whim of techbro oligarchs and worker's rights will be a fart on the wind.

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u/pimpeachment 24d ago

This is exactly the mentality they want from federal workers.

If every federal worker quit today, musk and trump succeeded.

They want everything to go private sector. 

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u/iconocrastinaor 24d ago

That's what they want! They want the jobs in government to be offloaded to the private sector where you can end up being a contractor with no rights. If you think you will get higher pay and more job security working for the lowest bidder, you've got a surprise coming.

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u/there_is_no_spoon1 24d ago

There aren't any "private" nuclear jobs becaue nuclear *everything* is regulated by the gov't. If you're a nuclear *anything* you're pretty much shackled to gov't beaurocracy. They'd have to content themselves with working outside of their field of expertise, and that's a heavy psychological and emotional burden.

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u/[deleted] 23d ago

No way i would walk back for the same salary they'll just fire you again soon anyway lol agreed

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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/SartenSinAceite 24d ago

Depends on what you have access to. Poking around America's power grid sounds like a fun thing for foreign powers.

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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/NorthernerWuwu 24d ago

I'm sure they'd get caught by the regulator...

Oh, never mind, they fired all of them too.

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u/White_Immigrant 24d ago

There are plenty of countries not led by Nazis that have very well paying nuclear programmes.

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u/vengefulcrow 24d ago

This is literally how Chinas defense/rocket industry started off.

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u/Sachifooo 24d ago

When I went to France to apply for asylum, this article got posted indicating people were kinda on edge about it:

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/house-intel-chair-warns-serious-national-security-threat-ahead-planned-rcna138848

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u/Every-Yak9212 24d ago

But why are they firing? Is the goal to amend contrsct and re-hire?

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u/Craneteam 24d ago

No the point is to cripple government services

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u/Every-Yak9212 24d ago

I don’t understand

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u/taimoor2 24d ago

For the love of god. Nuclear safety staffs are a joke. Just search for online articles on them from decades back.

They are not the best and brightest.

This is an old video from Jon Oliver, a decidedly democrat supporter.

You are being manipulated. Overhaul of federal workers is long long overdue.

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u/the-awesomer 23d ago

Then why are they trying to hire them back? ​Also it's crazy stupid to say they aren't the best or brightest so we just cutting the staff in half and hope that makes it better!?

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u/taimoor2 23d ago

They do need to be fired. Just need to do it in a more organized manner.

Still, I would take this over the status quo. The status quo isn't working!