NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in southern California is implementing another round of layoffs, impacting approximately 325 employees, which accounts for about five percent of its workforce.
These layoffs will affect various technical, business, and support areas and come in response to funding shortfalls. This decision follows a previous round of cuts earlier this year, during which 530 employees and 40 contractors were laid off due to reduced funding for NASA’s Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission.
Despite these cuts, JPL’s leadership emphasized the importance of streamlining operations while continuing to focus on critical work for NASA. The laboratory is adapting to lower budgets and tightening its operations moving forward.
JPL, which manages essential NASA projects such as the Perseverance and Curiosity Mars rovers, is reassessing its budget in light of reduced funding and future work projections. The MSR mission, aiming to bring Martian samples back to Earth, has been reviewed due to cost concerns, with estimated expenses ranging from $8 billion to $11 billion, prompting a re-evaluation of the entire project.
JPL’s director, Laurie Leshin, stated that the laboratory aims to stabilize staffing levels at approximately 5,500 employees. The lab is hopeful that no further layoffs will be necessary in the near future, given its current budget and planned activities.
