At least 2,145 high-ranking NASA officials are ready to leave due to pressure related to staff reductions, Politico reports, citing a document, indicating that this could create difficulties for the White House's space policy and deprive the agency of years of experience, writes UNN.
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These 2,145 employees hold GS-13 and GS-15 level positions — the highest government positions, usually reserved for specialists with special skills or managerial responsibilities. The losses are especially significant at the highest levels: according to documents, 875 GS-15 level employees are expected to leave.
These 2,145 employees, in turn, constitute the majority of the 2,694 civilian employees who have agreed to leave NASA as part of a series of offers that are part of a broader administration effort to reduce staff in federal agencies, the documents state. NASA offered employees early retirement, severance pay, and deferred dismissals.
According to documents, many departing employees also work within NASA's core missions. Among them are 1,818 employees working in areas such as science or human spaceflight, while others perform mission support functions such as IT, facilities management, or finance.
"The agency is losing managerial and core technical expertise," said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at the Planetary Society. "What is the strategy and what do we hope to achieve?"
The employee layoffs follow the White House's proposed 2026 budget, which would cut NASA's funding by 25 percent and over 5,000 employees. If these cuts are approved by Congress, the agency will be forced to operate with a minimal budget and staff since the early 1960s.
The losses are distributed across each of NASA's 10 regional centers, where much of the agency's work is carried out and focused on everything from planning astronaut missions to the Moon to launching probes to explore deep space.
Even if Congress decides to reject the White House's cuts, the agency may find it difficult to retain employees, the publication notes.