NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory laid off 550 employees, who constitute around 10% of its staff. The lab’s director, Dave Galleghar said in a statement posted online, that the layoffs are part of a broad “realignment of its workforce.” He also said that the cuts will affect positions across the NASA center’s technical, business and support areas.
“This week’s action, while not easy, is essential to securing JPL’s future by creating a leaner infrastructure, focusing on our core technical capabilities, maintaining fiscal discipline, and positioning us to compete in the evolving space ecosystem — all while continuing to deliver on our vital work for NASA and the nation,” he said. He also added that the employees will be notified about their statuses Tuesday.
READ: NASA faces around 20% workforce exodus (
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, located in Pasadena, California, is a research and development center that is federally funded by NASA but managed by the California Institute of Technology. Some of NASA’s most significant missions were built in this lab, including the United States’ first satellite, Explorer 1, which launched into space in 1958. JPL scientists also designed, built and operated all five rovers that NASA has successfully landed on the surface of Mars.
This comes at a time of a government shutdown which exacerbated the threat of mass layoffs. Last week, the Trump administration began laying off more than 4,000 federal workers across several other departments, including the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services. However, Gallagher has stated that the JPL layoffs are not a result of the shutdown.
READ: White House is slashing more than 2,000 NASA jobs: Report (
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced plans to cut 2,145 agency employees. According to documents obtained by Politico, most employees leaving are in senior-level government ranks, depriving NASA of decades of experience as part of a push to slash the size of the federal government through early retirement, buyouts, and deferred resignations. The documents indicate that 1,818 of the staff currently serve in core mission areas, like science or human space flight, while the others work in mission support roles, including information technology, or IT.
Nearly 4,000 NASA employees had chosen to leave the space agency through President Donald Trump’s deferred resignation program. This amounts to around 20% of its workforce, and will reduce the agency from 18,000 to 14,000 employees. This figure also includes about 500 employees who were lost through normal attrition.