Residents of a southern city that is known for its rocket programs are bracing the impact of the executive command of President Donald Trump to reduce the federal workforce.
An estimated 21,000 federal employees work in Huntsville, Alabama, many of whom have jobs on the Redstone Arsenal Military Base – who is also home to FBI offices and the Marshall Flight Center, Waff reports.
Some residents said that they have already received so-called 'fork in the way' dismissal e-mails, which government employees offered a buy-out until 30 September if they agreed to stop. Others said they were forced to return to their offices after Trump had gone home at work.
When on Thursday thousands of probation workers were fired in the United States, and now many in the city are worried about the consequences of an executive order that Trump signed on Tuesday, reports the Huntsville Times.
It gives federal agencies to prepare for 'large -scale reductions of strength', which states that every legal government functions that are not required by law would be prioritized for cutbacks and recruitment will be limited.
With exceptions for functions such as public safety, only one employee can be added for every four who leave. Moreover, new employees in general would need the approval of a representative of the Doge, which extended the influence of the Elon Musk team.
This may apply to most of the 7,000 employees in the Marshall Space Flight Center, which now leads the development of NASA's Space Launch System Rockets as part of the Bureau's efforts to reduce astronauts to the moon, according to the New York Times.
But according to a continuity plan that NASA submitted to the Office of Management and Budget in 2023, more than 92 percent of the employees of the space agency would be considered no -sential as the next time a government closure would take place.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday in which federal agencies are instructed to prepare for 'large -scale reductions of strength', which states that the government functions that are not legally required would be given priority for cutbacks
Many in Huntsville, Alabama are now scraping for the impact of that decision
Add to the worries are 'first buddy' Musk's criticism of the Space Launch System Project, which he has previously said is outdated.
The founder of SpaceX also stated earlier that the thinking behind the rockets makes him 'sad', because the project remains on schedule and a lot of budget for years.
It is estimated that every launch can cost up to $ 4 billion – and the rockets cannot be reused according to Reuters.
In the light of the threat, potential homeowners have returned from their plans to buy a house in the city because they are concerned about their job security, broker Terrence Harris told The Times.
“These extreme fluctuations at federal jobs, it really influences buying people,” he explained.
“It influences what kind of investor comes to this city, how much they are willing to invest.”
Former Congressman Parker Griffith also warned that it could harm the local economy.
Their worries seem to be linked to past experiences, after more than 1,000 jobs were lost when Constellation – a program to bring astronauts back to the moon – was closed in 2010.
Trump's order could apply to many of the 7,000 employees of the Marshall Flight Center
It leads the development of NASA's Space Launch System Rockets as part of the office's efforts to bring astronauts back to the moon
“They remember the Constellation and the Shuttle program that came to an end,” said Steve Cash, who led the NASA propulsion program and held other jobs in the Space Center before he retired in 2016, about employees in the city industry.
“Fear of the unknown is the worst.”
There are also concern that Trump's cuts would not only influence those in the space industry, because his plans to limit $ 4 billion in federal financing at universities, cancer centers and hospitals can influence the programs on the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Now some people hope that Trump will visit the house of the Space Command of the Nation in Huntsville and turn some of his decisions.
But the cuts probably do not affect the FBI and ATF agents in the city, which are considered exempt from leave in the case of a government closure.
Add to the worries are 'first buddy' Elon Musk's criticism of the Space Launch System Project, which he has previously called outdated.
As a result, some city leaders say that the worries are unjustified.
“It's very normal to be anxious in these times because they just don't know,” said Mayor Tommy Battle, a Republican, about the federal workers of the city.
But he added: 'We have a pretty good portfolio and it is diverse. And it is diverse enough that if someone goes down, another area goes up. '
Jake Griffin, a government contractor, added that the 'Defense budget will probably not shrink' under Trump, so in general I do not think that we will soon see a real economic decline in Huntsville. “
In fact, when the Trump administration, he said a number of those wasted dollars to the defense budget, I think Huntsville gets the chance to grow even more. '
