NASA Eyes Leaner Future as 4,000 Staff Prepare To Exit

NASA is preparing to shrink its workforce by approximately 20%, with nearly 4,000 civil servants expected to depart through a voluntary resignation program aimed at streamlining operations under the Donald Trump administration's broader federal workforce reduction plan.

The space agency announced on Friday that an estimated 3,870 employees will exit, bringing the total number of civil servants down to around 14,000 by the end of the year.

The departures are part of the Deferred Resignation Programme, initiated as part of a larger Trump-era push for government efficiency, reports the South China Morning Post.

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NASA emphasized that the figures could still fluctuate as applications are reviewed and some employees may withdraw or be denied participation. Officials noted that the agency had also accounted for roughly 500 employees leaving through regular attrition during the same period.

The agency first launched a voluntary exit initiative early in the Trump administration.

That initial round, which began with agency-wide emails offering buyouts, led to the departure of 870 staff—about 4.8% of the total workforce at the time.

The latest round began in June, with a deadline to opt in by late July. NASA reported that 16.4% of its current staff accepted the offer.

Former acting administrator Janet Petro stated during a June town hall that the goal was to avoid forced layoffs. "The reason we are doing this is to minimise any involuntary workforce reductions in the future," Petro told employees, according to a leaked recording, South China Morning Post added.

Despite concerns about institutional knowledge loss, NASA leadership affirmed its commitment to exploration goals, including missions to the Moon and Mars.

In its public statement, the agency said, "Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organisation," the report adds

However, the plan has sparked internal backlash.

In a letter titled “The Voyager Declaration,” hundreds of past and present NASA employees warned newly appointed interim administrator Sean Duffy—who also heads the Department of Transportation—that widespread resignations could compromise both safety and innovation.

The letter stated, "Thousands of Nasa civil servant employees have already been terminated, resigned or retired early, taking with them highly specialised, irreplaceable knowledge crucial to carrying out Nasa's mission."

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