Donald Trump’s administration laid off 170 employees at the National Science Foundation in February as part of a government-wide staff reduction. Critics say the cuts, which included artificial intelligence specialists,

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced Monday that it is reinstating dozens of probationary employees that the Trump administration fired last month. Why it matters: The reversal comes after a federal judge ordered the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to rescind instructions to several federal agencies to fire probationary employees.

Judge slams 'significant chaos' that's become Uncle Sam's standard operating procedure The US government's National Science Foundation has reinstated most of its cadre of probationary employees after laying them off en masse last month.

Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget.

At an emotional meeting, NSF officials announced layoffs for about 10 percent of their workforce and warned of more firings to come

Firings at the NSF included permanent employees who had already completed their one-year probationary period, as well as at-will workers.

The National Science Foundation is reinstating 84 employees who were terminated in February, the agency announced Monday. NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan told the agency’s staff Monday morning that the agency is in the process of bringing back some of its terminated employees in the wake of new guidance from the Trump administration and a court ruling issued last week.