Pasadena, California — In a second significant workforce reduction within a year, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will lay off 325 employees this week, accounting for approximately 5% of its workforce. According to Eric berger of Arstechnica.com, the cuts, announced by JPL Director Laurie Leshin, come as the California-based laboratory faces financial pressures and shifting priorities within NASA's deep-space exploration agenda. JPL, renowned for leading the development of robotic space missions, is left with about 5,500 employees following this layoff round.
Leshin acknowledged the challenge of another round of layoffs, which followed an earlier reduction of 530 staff in February. These cuts stemmed from funding pauses, including for the Mars Sample Return mission, leading to JPL trimming about an eighth of its workforce this year. “This is a message I had hoped not to have to write,” Leshin stated. She noted that while the layoffs were unavoidable, the number was lower than initially projected, crediting the efforts of JPL staff across various departments.
JPL’s recent staffing adjustments come as NASA faces ongoing “funding challenges” and reevaluates its goals for deep space exploration. Leshin explained that despite ongoing efforts to secure funding, leadership determined a second round of layoffs was necessary. “While we can never be 100 percent certain of the future budget, we will be well positioned for the work ahead,” Leshin wrote. “If we hold strong together, we will come through this, just as we have done during other turbulent times in JPL’s nearly 90-year history.”
Employees were instructed to work remotely on Wednesday and notified via email about their employment status. The layoffs affect all areas of JPL, including technical, project, and support teams. The reductions were driven by lower budgets and forecasts for upcoming work, Leshin said, and required a belt-tightening across the board.
The financial cuts follow NASA’s decision to reassess the Mars Sample Return mission, initially led by JPL, after an independent review team concluded that JPL’s proposal, estimated to cost between $8 billion and $11 billion, was unfeasible. NASA has since considered alternative plans from private companies, such as SpaceX and Rocket Lab, as well as proposals from other NASA centers. Consequently, the Mars Sample Return budget was drastically reduced, dropping from nearly $1 billion to less than $300 million for this fiscal year. JPL’s future involvement in a redefined Mars Sample Return mission remains uncertain.
The laboratory currently lacks a new flagship mission, especially after launching the $5 billion Europa Clipper spacecraft. Another mission, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar, is expected to launch from India next year, but JPL currently has no large-scale projects that command a comparable budget and staffing requirement. The shifting landscape also brings new competition from other institutions like Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and private firms like Lockheed.
Despite recent setbacks, Leshin emphasized JPL’s enduring strengths and contributions to planetary science, from historic missions like Voyager to recent projects like the Mars landers. She expressed confidence in JPL’s future in planetary exploration, highlighting the lab’s resilience and legacy. “We are an incredibly strong organization—our dazzling history, current achievements, and relentless commitment to exploration and discovery position us well for the future,” Leshin assured in her memo to employees.
The layoffs, while challenging, are part of JPL's efforts to navigate budget constraints while preparing for the next chapter in its nearly 90-year history of space exploration.
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