Central Valley water authorities claim that the Trump administration has ordered buyouts and firings at the federal agency that manages California's water infrastructure, potentially endangering the agency's capacity to provide water and control dams.
According to two Bureau of Reclamation employees with knowledge of the matter who were not permitted to talk publicly, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, ordered the job layoffs.
According to one employee, the bureau, which has over 1,000 employees, will lay off 100 of them in California due to buyouts and terminations, which will eliminate almost 10% of its regional staff. However, the bureau has been directed to create plans to reduce its workforce by 40%, and more significant labor reductions are planned.
Karl Stock, the bureau's regional director for the California-Great Basin Region, is among the staff members who have submitted applications for "deferred resignation" buyouts. Under the initiative, which Musk is spearheading, those accepting the buyouts are scheduled to depart in March and receive payment through September.
The program has been contested in court by unions that represent federal employees.
According to internal records obtained by The Times, among the jobs being cut are engineers, maintenance mechanics, and specialists in fish biology.
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According to one Bureau of Reclamation employee, "it's going to have a significant impact on our operations."
A request for comment from the Department of Government Efficiency was not answered. Politico had previously reported on the workforce reductions.
Leaders of California water districts are concerned about the agency's job losses. In a letter sent to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and acting Reclamation Commissioner David Palumbo on February 25, managers of 14 Central Valley water agencies cautioned that such significant cuts at the Bureau of Reclamation would "compromise its ability to fulfill its mission of delivering water and power."
Municipal water suppliers like Contra Costa Water District and agricultural suppliers like Glenn Colusa Irrigation District are among the water organizations that have reported concerns. The Central Valley Project, a federally run network of over 20 dams and reservoirs that spans more than 400 miles and supplies water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to farms and villages in the San Joaquin Valley, provides water to the agencies.
The Bureau of Reclamation "remains focused on providing essential water and hydropower to the American public across the 17 western states," according to Sandy Day, the agency's chief of public affairs.