JPL announces more cuts, expected to lay off more than 300 employees

The NASA-funded Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge announced on Tuesday that it will lay off about 5% of its staff.

“Despite this being incredibly difficult for our community, this number is lower than projected a few months ago thanks in part to the hard work of so many people across JPL,” director Laurie Leshin wrote in a memo sent to employees. 

This is the second time this year that the Los Angeles County facility laid off hundreds of employees. In February, JPL, which plays an integral role in NASA’s Mars exploration program, laid off about 530 employees, roughly 8% of its workforce. At the time, the facility attributed the cuts to a shrinking budget from the federal government. Leshin stated in an internal memo that the Mars program’s budget was cut by 63% compared to 2023. 

“During our last town hall, I discussed our continued funding challenges and projections of what the potential impact on our workforce could look like,” Leshin said in the latest memo released on Nov. 12. “Unfortunately, despite all these efforts, we need to make one further workforce reduction to meet the available funding for FY’25.”

Leshin wrote that the layoffs will affect every unit within the lab, including the technical, project, business and support areas.

“With lower budgets and based on the forecasted work ahead, we had to tighten our belts across the board, and you will see that reflected in the layoff impacts,” she wrote. 

The lab required all employees to work from home on Nov. 13, which is when the leadership is expected to notify affected staff.

“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. We will be here to support you during this time to ensure this transition is as smooth as possible.”

Following the layoffs, JPL will have about 5,500 employees. Leshin believed this would be the last round of cuts in the foreseeable future. 

“While we can never be 100% certain of the future budget, we will be well positioned for the work ahead,” she 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.”

Researchers from the California Institute of Technology founded JPL in 1936. It partnered with NASA in 1958, one of the program’s first centers. Since then, Caltech has managed the facility while receiving federal funding from NASA. 

JPL’s footprint has been on nearly every step of America’s voyage into space. Researchers from the facility helped develop the nation’s first satellite, dubbed Explorer 1. They also played an essential part in NASA’s mission to the moon through Surveyor 1, the first soft landing on the moon which provided critical information to the Apollo crews. 

Recently, JPL has helped NASA explore Jupiter, Mars and Saturn.