NASA Braces for Budget Blow, Offers Buyouts and Early Retirements

As the Trump administration proposes massive budget cuts for the US space program, NASA issued a new plea this week for its employees to quit the agency with a new offer for job buyouts.

 NASA officials announced the launch of a new early retirement and deferred resignation programme on June 9, in memoranda distributed to staff members with the goal of drastically reducing the number of posts within the space agency.

NASA is continuing its stepwise approach to lower its overall headcount and streamline its workforce, according to a statement released by NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner. He went on to say that this gives workers the freedom to leave while still enabling the organisation to fulfil its objective.

 Each employee's unique circumstances will determine their eligibility for these programmes. These initiatives, which include a voluntary separation incentive programme, a deferred resignation programme, and a voluntary early retirement authority, follow the Trump administration's significant budget cuts for NASA in 2026.

These reductions are intended to shrink NASA's workforce from its current 17,391 people to 11,853, a 32% decrease, and its overall budget by 24%. Congress is still reviewing the budget request, and it hasn't been implemented yet.

 Warner stated to a US news outlet that this endeavour is unrelated to DOGE and has no set goal or proportion. Earlier this year, the DOGE team issued similar requests for postponed resignations.

Musk's relationship with Trump has degenerated since he resigned his temporary position in the White House on May 31 due to disagreements over the president's "Big Beautiful Bill" programme.

NASA Employees to Decide their Fate by 25 July

The deadline for NASA personnel to choose whether to participate in any of the staff reduction programmes is July 25.

According to NASA officials, anyone enrolled in the Deferred Resignation Program would probably stop working soon after and continue to receive compensation until January 9, 2026.

According to Warner, most participants would be leaving the agency by January 9, 2026, and staff will be able to start administrative leave seven to fourteen days after signing their separation agreement.

In some cases, the agency may authorise deferring an employee's administrative leave start date to April 1, 2026, and terminating their employment with the agency no later than September 30, 2026, in the event of a severe need.

Almost 75000 Government Employees Accepted the Offers

These new NASA initiatives come after multiple rounds of agency departures (altogether, nearly 75,000 government employees accepted offers of deferred resignation) and staffing changes at important agency facilities, like the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, which recently terminated its remote work policy for almost 5,500 employees, forcing the majority of staff to either return to the office or leave.

(The California Institute of Technology oversees JPL, NASA's principal robotic planetary exploration centre.) According to media accounts, DOGE's activities have also resulted in the termination of hundreds of probationary employees at NASA and other government institutions.