NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory laying off hundreds

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., said it’s laying off 550 employees Tuesday as “part of a reorganization that began in July and not related to the current government shutdown.”

“In order to best position JPL going forward, we are taking steps to restructure and establish an appropriate size to ensure future success,” JPL Director Dave Gallagher said in a statement released Monday. “As part of this effort, JPL is undergoing a realignment of its workforce, including a reduction in staff.”

Tuesday’s layoffs, which impact 10 percent of the JPL’s workforce, will affect employees in the technical, business and support areas, according to Gallagher.

He said the JPL, which is managed by the California Institute of Technology, has spoken with employees about “the challenges and hard choices ahead.”

Though it’s “not easy,” he said the layoffs were “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.”

The news comes days after 4,100 furloughed federal employees were laid off during the government shutdown. These layoffs impacted several departments and agencies across the federal government, including 1,446 Treasury Department employees.

The JPL is NASA’s “only federally-funded research and development center,” according to its website.

It previously underwent mass layoffs in February 2024, with 530 laid off. Another 40 contractors were included in the layoffs.

In July, NASA lost approximately 20 percent of its workforce, about 4,000 employees, as part of President Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal government since returning to office in January.

Those roughly 4,000 employees requested two rounds of deferred resignations, which were put into place throughout the federal government by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. The resignations were set up to cut down the size of the federal workforce and make other cuts to costs.