NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced Monday it would cut about 550 jobs — about 10% of its workforce.
IN statement published onlineLab director Dave Gallagher said the layoffs were part of a broader “reorganization of the workforce” and not a result of the government shutdown.
The cuts will affect positions in the technical, business and support areas of the NASA center, he said.
“This week's actions, while not easy, are important to secure JPL's future by building a more cost-effective infrastructure, focusing on our core technical capabilities, maintaining financial discipline and positioning us to compete in the evolving space ecosystem – all while continuing our vital work for NASA and the nation,” he said.
Gallagher added that employees will be notified of their status on Tuesday.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, is a research and development center federally funded by NASA but managed by the California Institute of Technology. Some of the space agency's most iconic missions were built here, including the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1, launched into space in 1958.
JPL scientists also designed, built and operated all five Mars rovers that NASA successfully landed on the surface of Mars.
faces of NASA uncertainty about your budget and future priorities. Like most other government agencies, it has undergone deep funding and personnel cuts under the Trump administration as part of efforts to reduce the federal workforce.
About 4,000 NASA employees have accepted deferred retirement program offers since President Donald Trump took office, reducing the space agency's 18,000-person workforce by nearly a fifth.
In July Reuters reports this. that about 2,145 senior NASA employees were expected to leave in the latest round of cuts.
Last week, as the government shutdown continued, the Trump administration started layoffs of more than 4,000 federal employees through several others departments including the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services. The cuts don't appear to have affected NASA.
