Close to 4,000 NASA employees resign as a result of government incentives during the Trump administration
More than 20% of NASA’s civilian workforce has chosen to leave the agency since President Trump took office in January, as revealed by the entity on Friday, July 25. In the latest wave of resignations, thousands of employees have accepted agreements through the deferred resignation program promoted by the Trump administration.
### Official Statement
In an email statement sent on Friday, NASA reported that around 3,000 employees applied for benefits under the second round of the program. In the initial round at the beginning of the year, 870 workers had already departed. In total, the nearly 4,000 resignations could potentially reduce the agency’s civilian workforce from about 18,000 to around 14,000, including approximately 500 losses due to natural staff turnover. NASA clarified that these figures might change depending on the number of resignations that are rejected or employees who revoke their departure requests. Nonetheless, this new setback for the personnel exacerbates the situation.
“The significant programmatic changes at NASA must be strategically implemented to carefully manage risks,” said a statement from July 21 signed by 363 scientists and current and retired agency employees. “Instead, the last six months have brought hasty and wasteful changes that have undermined our mission and caused catastrophic impacts on NASA’s workforce.”
### Space Race Heating Up
Despite the staff cuts, the Trump administration has set high expectations for NASA, insisting on a return to the Moon before China and ensuring that the first human to set foot on Mars is American. To achieve these ambitious goals, the agency requires its top talent, robust programs, and sufficient funding, according to Keith Cowing — astrobiologist, former NASA employee, and current editor of the NASA Watch portal — speaking to Gizmodo.
“We have none of that… And yet, somehow, we are going to Mars sooner,” Cowing remarked.
