“This sharpened focus means other research activities will need to be deprioritised, including areas where CSIRO lacks the required scale to achieve significant impact or areas where others in the ecosystem are better placed to deliver,” the organisation said.
Tonks said staff were devastated by the latest round of cuts.
“This has been ongoing since the start of 2024,” she said. “It’s a long time to be in a state of not knowing what’s happening. It’s a very precarious situation for people working in CSIRO. I don’t think they have clarity on what the strategic direction is and how it’s moving forward.”
Though it remains unclear what sections the job cuts will come from, rumours have circulated about the areas that would be hit hardest since senior executives in CSIRO’s manufacturing and data science departments left the agency earlier this year.
“I know this news will be difficult for CSIRO staff,” Science Minister Tim Ayres said in a statement issued shortly after the cuts were announced.
“Reform is essential to make sure the facilities, research priorities and technologies of yesterday meet the needs of tomorrow. This review – the first of its kind in over 15 years – will mean that CSIRO exits or scales back research in areas where that work is being undertaken by other parts of the R&D [research and development] system and builds the foundation for strengthening and focusing effort in areas of national industrial science priority.
“Reprioritisation is difficult but essential to maintain Australia’s scientific and innovation leadership role for the benefit of Australians,” the statement read.
Formal consultation with the workforce about the cuts won’t start until January, meaning many staff members will go on Christmas leave without knowing if they will have a job in the new year.
“As today’s stewards of CSIRO, we have a responsibility to make decisions that ensure we can continue to deliver science that improves the lives of all Australians for generations to come,” CSIRO chief executive Dr Doug Hilton said in a statement.
“We must set up CSIRO for the decades ahead with a sharpened research focus that capitalises on our unique strengths, allows us to concentrate on the profound challenges we face as a nation and deliver solutions at scale.”
