NASA set to lose thousands of highly skilled workers - Bloomberg

According to NASA’s official statement released on Friday, the total number of employees expected to leave under the program could reach up to 3,870. However, that figure may change as applications are reviewed, particularly in cases where an employee withdraws from the program or the separation is not approved.

The statement also emphasized that safety remains the agency’s top priority as it aims to become a more streamlined and efficient organization, while ensuring full readiness for what it described as a "Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars."

Two phases of Voluntary Separation Program

In 2025, NASA employees were offered two rounds of early departure options:

The first round, launched early in the Trump administration by the Office of Government Efficiency, saw around 870 employees, about 4.8% of NASA’s total workforce, accept early exit packages.

The second round, initiated by NASA in June with a deadline of July 25, resulted in approximately 3,000 more employees opting in, 16.4% of the workforce.

Factoring in regular annual reductions of about 500 employees, NASA expects its civil service headcount to drop to around 14,000.

According to former acting NASA Administrator Janet Petrov, the main goal is to minimize the need for forced layoffs. "That is our whole goal," she said during an agency-wide meeting on June 25.

In February, NASA requested a general exemption to protect all probationary employees from layoffs.

Struggling to retain expertise

The looming exodus has sparked concern among space industry experts and within NASA itself. Critics warn that the agency risks losing irreplaceable institutional knowledge critical to its missions.

In an open letter titled Voyager Declaration, addressed to interim NASA Administrator Shawn Duffy and US Secretary of Transportation, hundreds of current and former NASA employees warned that the cuts could jeopardize mission safety and performance:

"Thousands of NASA civil servant employees have already been terminated, resigned or retired early, taking with them highly specialized, irreplaceable knowledge crucial to carrying out NASA’s mission."