The agency announced the workforce reduction yesterday, explaining that it must secure as much as $135 million annually over the next decade to maintain long-term sustainability.
As a result, CSIRO says the staffing cuts are part of broader efforts to realign resources and manage ongoing funding challenges.
“After decades of stretching resources to maintain the breadth of its programs and size of its workforce, CSIRO has reached a critical inflection point.”
CSIRO has linked the latest round of job cuts to a broader strategy aimed at shoring up between $80 million and $135 million in annual funding, much of which is needed to upgrade the organisation’s aging infrastructure.
The agency confirmed that the reductions will disproportionately affect teams working in health and biosecurity, agriculture and food, and environmental research—three of its most scientifically significant divisions.
This announcement follows an earlier wave of planned cuts targeting non-scientific roles. CSIRO previously outlined a proposal to remove up to 500 positions across its enterprise services division, which includes administrative and corporate support functions.
According to the CSIRO Staff Association, reductions in the organisation’s “people function” will shrink staffing from 207 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions to just 171.2 FTE.
That includes the loss of around 36 jobs within the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) unit, prompting further concerns about the agency’s operational capacity.
The job cuts have drawn strong criticism from several staff members within the agency, who say the decision will undermine vital research efforts.
The CSIRO Staff Association, led by Section Secretary Susan Tonks, has sharply criticised the latest restructuring plans.
Tonks described the announcement as “a very sad day for publicly funded science,” warning that the cuts will erode the agency’s ability to deliver on its national research mission.
The union argues that the scale of the reductions surpasses those imposed under the previous conservative government, despite the current Labor government’s public commitments to strengthening Australia’s scientific capability.
Concerns about leadership and morale are also mounting.
A recent survey of more than 4,000 CSIRO employees found that only 36% believed the organisation’s leadership was providing a “motivational vision” for the future, with many staff expressing low confidence in the agency’s direction.
The Staff Association has further warned that the restructuring could weaken mental health and safety support across the organisation.
With HSE staffing set to diminish and only a single permanent Mental Health Specialist serving thousands of employees, the union fears that critical wellbeing services will be stretched beyond capacity.
CSIRO’s leadership maintains that the restructuring is essential to securing the agency’s long-term financial stability.
In a statement, executives said the organisation “must evolve, becoming sharper in our focus, doing fewer things — better and at scale.”
Management argues that the changes will allow CSIRO to concentrate its resources on six core priority areas: energy and minerals, food and fibre, nature, health, the technology economy, and what it describes as “from wonder to discovery.”
The agency also says it is adhering to all formal requirements throughout the process. Workforce planning, according to CSIRO, will be conducted under the terms of its enterprise agreement, with full consultation with staff before any final decisions are made.
