Topline
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will lay off about 550 workers, the California research lab said, in a restructuring move that its director told employees was not related to the ongoing government shutdown.
The job cuts are part of an effort to “restructure” the Jet Propulsion Lab, the lab’s director said in a statement.
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Key Facts
In a message posted on Tuesday, the JPL’s director Dave Gallagher said the layoffs were part of a “realignment” and “reorganization” that began in July.
The layoffs will target employees in the “technical, business, and support areas,” Gallagher wrote, and said they would learn about their status on Tuesday.
Gallagher said the moves will create a “leaner infrastructure” at the lab, and position it to “compete in the evolving space ecosystem.”
The JPL has about 5,500 employees at its Pasadena, California campus, the lab said on its website, meaning the layoffs will target approximately 10% of staff.
Key Background
The Jet Propulsion Lab, which was founded at the California Institute of Technology in the 1930s, was responsible for some of the important advancements in space exploration, including the Voyager spacecraft and the rovers that NASA sent to Mars. It is fully funded by NASA, but remains managed by CalTech. As the government remains shut down, about 15,000 NASA employees have been furloughed, CNN reported. The Trump administration has threatened to lay off federal employees as the shutdown continues, but the JPL’s director said this week’s layoffs were “not related” to the shutdown.