Trump Budget Slash Triggers 114 Layoffs at U.S. NREL Lab

• Trump’s FY 2026 budget slashes DOE funds, forcing NREL to lay off 114 employees—3 % of staff—in Colorado and beyond, raising alarm in clean-tech circles.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, is shedding 114 positions—about 3 percent of its 3,675-strong workforce—after the White House’s fiscal-2026 budget request targeted deep cuts to clean-energy programs. The layoffs affect researchers and support staff on site as well as remote workers across several states.

President Donald Trump’s spending blueprint, branded “Ending the Green New Scam,” seeks a USD 163 billion reduction in non-defense discretionary outlays and trims nearly USD 19 billion from the Department of Energy. More than USD 15 billion of that comes from programs tied to the Green New Deal, according to budget documents released last week.

NREL is one of 17 national laboratories overseen by the DOE and a linchpin in U.S. research on solar, wind, hydrogen and grid integration. Management told staff that the “involuntary separations” would help the lab “focus resources on critical priorities” as federal financing tightens.

Most cuts land at the laboratory’s South Table Mountain campus outside Denver, though employees at satellite facilities in Arvada, Fairbanks and Washington, D.C., are also affected. Internal emails show scientists, engineers and operations personnel were notified late Monday, ending weeks of speculation after the budget plan surfaced.

Local officials worry the downsizing could ripple through Colorado’s clean-tech ecosystem, which counts on NREL for advanced testing and industry partnerships. “NREL anchors thousands of high-skill jobs and a multi-billion-dollar supply chain; losing talent now is a setback,” said Jennifer Parson, head of the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association

The Trump administration argues the shift rebalances federal support toward “energy realities” such as fossil fuels and advanced nuclear, while private capital increasingly backs renewables. Clean-energy advocates counter that the proposed DOE cuts imperil long-term innovation just as global competitors ramp their own investment.

Congress will ultimately decide the lab’s fate when it drafts appropriations later this year. For now, NREL says its mission to deliver “affordable, secure and resilient energy” continues—albeit with fewer hands on deck.