Overview
- The government sent dismissal telegrams to 140 Servicio Meteorológico Nacional workers on Wednesday and Thursday, with most on temporary contracts and roughly 80 from the observer corps.
- ATE scheduled an information blackout for Friday, April 24 from 5:00 to 12:00, and unions say the loss of official weather data in that window could stop most flights except medical or humanitarian operations.
- Officials frame the cuts as a modernization push to automate stations and trim contracted roles, asserting no career meteorologists were dismissed and core operations remain safe.
- Workers and specialists warn that removing observers weakens the manual network that supplies forecasts, early warnings, and aviation weather, noting fewer than about 20 of roughly 130 stations are automated.
- Multiple outlets report the plan could reach about 240 layoffs and close around 40 stations, and affected contractors say they expect only final pay and vacation without severance.