NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab announces hundreds of layoffs: 'Painful but necessary'
JPL said the layoffs will help NASA continue 'important work'
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will lay off a significant portion of its workforce on Wednesday, according to a memo that the company sent on Tuesday.
The lab, which specializes in robotic spacecraft and is managed by the California Institute of Technology, is laying off 5% of its workforce. According to the memo, the La Cañada Flintridge-based laboratory will lose around 325 employees.
"While we have taken various measures to meet our current FY’25 budget allocation, we have reached the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs," the JPL's announcement read.
JPL also noted that the layoffs impact employees across "technical, business, and support areas of the Laboratory."
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General view of NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on September 22, 2020 in Pasadena, California. (AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images / Getty Images)
"These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation," the statement added.
In a letter, JPL Director Laurie Leshin explained that the lab needed to "tighten our belts" in order to meet the financial budget for FY25.
"We have taken seriously the need to re-size our workforce, whether direct-funded (project) or funded on overhead (burden)," the director wrote. "With lower budgets and based on the forecasted [sic] work ahead, we had to tighten our belts across the board, and you will see that reflected in the layoff impacts."
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In an aerial view, storm clouds hang over the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) on February 7, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (David McNew/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Leshin also noted that all JPL employees are required to work from home on Wednesday.
"I know the absence of our colleagues will be acutely felt, especially after a very challenging year for the Lab," Leshin wrote. "To those leaving JPL as a result of this action, we are grateful for your many vital contributions to JPL and to NASA."
Earlier this year, JPL laid off 530 workers and 40 contractors — around 8% of its workforce. U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., commented on the layoffs at the time and called the lab's budget cuts "misguided."
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A 1:24th scale model of the Psyche spacecraft is displayed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, on April 11, 2022. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
"I'm not done helping lead the fight with my CA colleagues to reverse @NASA ’s premature & misguided budget cuts to the Mars Sample Return mission," she wrote. "I'm hopeful in the coming weeks we can work to broker a deal with the Administration and Congress to restore funding to the levels necessary to rehire workers and promote the kinds of scientific discovery @NASAJPL has been on the frontlines of for decades."
FOX Business' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.