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Although Congress has promised to shrink the federal work force as part of its campaign to reduce the deficit, layoffs are still only a rumor at most agencies. But not at the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). Last week the survey announced that 525 employees in its Geologic Division--including hundreds of scientists--would be out of a job as of 15 October. Ironically, the staff cuts came even though the division's budget appears to have weathered this year's flurry of budget cuts (Science, 11 August, p. 748). USGS officials say the layoffs are a belated response to years of stagnant funding and an attempt to spread research dollars across fewer activities.
The jobs lost, mostly in the Geologic Division's main offices in Reston, Virginia; Denver; and Menlo Park, California, include 345 permanent and 180 nonpermanent positions. About three fourths of those laid off were scientists and technical staff, with the remainder administrative and support personnel, says minerals specialist William Cannon, who coordinated the cuts. About 200 others will be demoted or moved to other positions. USGS employees had known for several weeks that job losses of this magnitude were coming (Science, 30 June, p. 1840), but researchers didn't know exactly where the ax would fall until...