Hundreds more CSIRO jobs on the chopping block as experts raise fears over impact on science

The Community and Public Sector Union warns further job losses show a ‘clear disconnect’ with the Albanese government’s priority to lift productivity. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Hundreds more jobs could be axed at Australia’s national science agency, sparking concerns the country is gutting its research capability just as the Trump administration makes deep cuts into the sector in the US.

The latest potential research job losses at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) follow 440 positions being cut last financial year and earlier deep reductions under the Coalition government, including 300 in 2016.