Australia's CSIRO cuts over 90 jobs in environment research unit

Australia's national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has announced that 92 jobs will be cut from its Environment Research Unit, impacting climate modelling staff. This decision follows previous cuts that have seen over 800 positions slashed in the last two years, with a further 350 full-time equivalent positions slated for reduction due to rising costs.

Of the 60 climate modellers and analysts employed by CSIRO, 11 have been informed they will be made redundant. A CSIRO spokesperson stated the agency is making strategic shifts to focus on areas where it can deliver the greatest national impact and is exiting research where it lacks scale or where others are better positioned. The spokesperson added that CSIRO will retain its climate science capability and continue to provide data, models, and scenarios for decision-making.

However, Ryan Winn, CEO of Science and Technology Australia, expressed concern that these redundancies could leave Australia more vulnerable to climate change impacts. He noted that Australia is the only country in the southern hemisphere contributing to global climate models and that there is no guarantee other research areas can pick up this work, potentially leaving decision-makers without essential tools for adaptation and future planning. These cuts come despite a recent $387.4 million funding boost for CSIRO over four years.