NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab laying off 5% of its workforce

NASA's chief center for robotic planetary exploration is conducting another round of layoffs.

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California — which manages many of NASA's high-profile robotic missions, such as the Perseverance and Curiosity Mars rovers — announced Tuesday (Nov. 12) that it will lay off about 325 employees, or roughly 5% of its workforce.

"The impacts are occurring across technical, business and support areas of the Laboratory," JPL officials wrote in an update on Tuesday. "These are painful but necessary adjustments that will enable us to adhere to our budget while continuing our important work for NASA and our nation."

Related: Facts and information about NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

JPL, which is federally funded but managed by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, also conducted a round of layoffs in February. Those cuts affected about 8% of JPL's workforce — 530 employees and 40 contractors.

The February layoffs were spurred, in part, by a reduction in funding this fiscal year for Mars sample return (MSR), a bold campaign to get material collected by Perseverance back to Earth in the 2030s. 

The entire MSR architecture is now under review, as the original plan was deemed too expensive; last year, an independent review board pegged its price tag at $8 billion to $11 billion.

JPL officials did not mention MSR when explaining this second round of layoffs, instead citing funding shortfalls more generally.

"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," JPL Director Laurie Leshin said in a memo to employees that the lab published with Tuesday's layoff announcement. 

Leshin said that the results of last week's presidential election did not play a role in the layoffs, which go into effect on Wednesday (Nov. 13). She stressed that "this action would be happening regardless of the recent election outcome."

Leshin also expressed hope that there would be no need for further layoffs for the foreseeable future.

"After this action, we will be at about 5,500 JPL regular employees," she wrote. "I believe this is a stable, supportable staffing level moving forward. While we can never be 100% certain of the future budget, we will be well positioned for the work ahead."