NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab lays off 8% of workforce citing lack of funds

Washington, Feb 7: NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab has shown pink slips to about 530 people, or 8 per cent of its workforce, due to lack of funds, the agency said, amid layoffs in Big Tech companies globally.

About 40 additional members of contractor workforce have also been laid off.

"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," officials said in a statement.

The officials noted that the layoffs will have an impact on both technical and support areas of the Lab.

"These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget allocation while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation," the statement said.

Based in California, JPL is federally funded but managed by the California Institute of -Technology.

It leads NASA's major science projects, such as the Curiosity and Perseverance rover missions on Mars; as well as the ambitious Mars sample return (MSR) campaign, which aims to ratchet the search for Red Planet life up to new and exciting levels.