NASA’s Mars Exploration Lab Lays Off 570 Workers Because Congress Can’t Get It Together

NASA is laying off 530 employees in their Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) as well as around 40 contract staff in a move the space agency said was prompted by a feeble budget and delays by Congress. 

The cuts were announced in a statement released Tuesday by JPL, which stated “After exhausting all other measures to adjust to a lower budget from NASA, and in the absence of an FY24 appropriation from Congress, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs.” 

It’s another blow to JPL’s ambitious science program—which, among other goals, aims to scan for ancient life on Mars and prepare it for habitation—in the wake of severe understaffing brought on by waves of resignations that staff told reporters was brought on by difficult working conditions such as long hours. JPL is the Caltech-managed lab responsible for NASA's robotic space exploration programs and is widely considered one of the nation's most important scientific institutions. The Mars 2020 mission that includes the Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter emerged from JPL, among numerous other projects. 

In an accompanying memo that was sent out to staff earlier, JPL director Laurie Leshin wrote “These cuts are among the most challenging that we have had to make.” She goes on to detail how the lab has tried to adjust to a diminished proposed budget of $300 million for its Mars Sample Return mission in 2024 (a 63 percent cut from last year), which was handed down because Congress has still not passed a 2024 budget for NASA. The agency tried trimming the fat on their existing budget, implementing a hiring freeze and reducing contracts for people working on the mission, all to no avail. 

"After exhausting all other measures to adjust to a lower budget from NASA, and in the absence of an FY24 appropriation from Congress, we have had to make the difficult decision to reduce the JPL workforce through layoffs," NASA's announcement stated. 

On Wednesday, most staff have been locked out of their offices in a mandatory work from home day as senior leadership meet with their teams in workforce update meetings. It’s only after these meetings that employees will learn whether they’ve been laid off or not. 

The layoffs come as Congress quibbles over the details of the 2024 budget, a fight that has been ongoing for months. In January, it passed a temporary short-term spending bill that averted a government shutdown until they could reach a decision in early March.

JPL has also been struggling to deliver on its ambitious, 62-strong portfolio of current, future and planned missions. A 2022 review of why it failed to launch its asteroid-assessing mission Psyche concluded that the lab had bitten off more than it could chew, pursuing more missions that it had capability to execute. 

Director Leshin imparted these words to departing employees: “To our colleagues who will be leaving JPL, I want you to know how grateful I am for the exceptional contributions you have made to our mission and our community. Your talents leave a lasting mark on JPL. You will always be a part of our story and you have made a positive difference here.”

For those staying, she wrote: “We will come through this difficult time and keep moving ahead on our essential missions, research, and technology work for NASA and the nation.”