More than 100 National Renewable Energy Lab employees laid off in Colorado, elsewhere

May 6, 2025

Local News

More than 100 National Renewable Energy Lab employees laid off in Colorado, elsewhere

The federal government has laid off 114 employees at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Colorado lab, as well as remote employees, an agency spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.

The layoffs affected staff at the lab’s Golden campus, as well as remote employees, not all of whom live in Colorado. The impacted workers came from both research and operations departments.

An NREL spokesperson said in a statement that the organization continues to “navigate a complex financial and operational landscape shaped by the issuance of stop work orders from federal agencies, new federal directives, and budgetary shifts.”

(KL)GOLDEN, CO--Visitors Center at the National Renewable Energy Lab, NREL, in Golden includes a Bergey BWC 1500 Wind Turbine System, a 1500 watt turbine used for smaller applications including battery charging and water pumping for small homes, cabins, o
The visitors center at the National Renewable Energy Lab, NREL, in Golden, Colorado, is seen in a 2007 Getty Images file photo.

Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images

NREL works on research and development of renewable energy, like solar and wind energy, and related technologies and research. Headquartered in Golden, it also has campuses in Arvada, Alaska, and an office in Washington, D.C., and employs approximately 3,000 people.

Tuesday’s layoffs are the latest in a string of mass layoffs and firings across the federal government under the second Trump administration by billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. While the exact number of civilian government employees laid off this year isn’t clear, the Center on Budget and Public Priorities has reported that 130,000 have been laid off or accepted buyouts, and the Trump administration plans to eliminate an additional 150,000 government jobs.

The federal government employs about 2.3 million people, about 57,000 of whom reside in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment.

Layoffs of federal workers in Colorado have so far impacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Forest Service, and the National Park Service.

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