7 hours ago
Last Updated:July 28, 2025, 15:08 IST
About 20% of NASA's workforce will leave the agency as it undergoes restructuring under the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the federal government size.
NASA Fires 20 Per Cent Staff
Under major restructuring move, around 20 per cent of the workforce at Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to leave the agency, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday. In line with the Trump administration’s move to lay off federal employees, NASA’s workforce would shrink from over 18,000 employees to around 14,000.
Approximately 3,870 NASA employees have opted to leave through the government’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), though the agency noted the figure may change in the coming weeks as applications are finalized or withdrawn.
NASA in an official statement said this is an effort to make the agency more “streamlined and efficient".
“Safety remains a top priority for our agency as we balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars," NASA said in a statement.
This is the second time that NASA employees are leaving the agency. In June 2025, the first round, initiated shortly after Trump’s inauguration, offered a buyout to federal workers, resulting in the voluntary departure of around 870 NASA employees—roughly 4.8 per cent of its workforce at the time.
As per a report by Politico, published earlier this month, the Trump administration was reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 senior ranking NASA employees, most of those equipped with specialised skills and managerial abilities. The report added that the agency had offered the affected staff early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations.
view commentsLocation :Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
First Published:News world NASA Fires 20 Per Cent Staff As Trump Administration Orders Federal Workers' Layoff
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