NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena will lay off 550 employees this week, the latest round of job cuts announced at the space science center.

Dave Gallagher, director of JPL, released a statement on Monday, Oct. 13 that said the layoffs, accounting for about 11% of its workforce, are necessary to restructure the lab amid uncertain budgets.

Gallager’s statement read:

“In order to best position JPL going forward, we are taking steps to restructure and establish an appropriate size to ensure future success. As part of this effort, JPL is undergoing a realignment of its workforce, including a reduction in staff.

This reduction — part of a reorganization that began in July and not related to the current government shutdown, will affect approximately 550 of our colleagues across technical, business and support areas.

Employees will be notified of their status on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Over the past few months, we have communicated openly with employees about the challenges and hard choices ahead.

This week’s action, while not easy, is essential to securing JPL’s future by creating a leaner infrastructure, focusing on our core technical capabilities, maintaining fiscal discipline and positioning us to compete in the evolving space ecosystem, all while continuing to deliver on our vital work for NASA and the nation.

We are grateful for the contributions of our departing colleagues, whose work has advanced exploration and innovation in ways that benefit us all.”

The layoffs are the fourth to affect JPL staff and contractors since the beginning of 2024. In January 2024, JPL laid off 100 contractors, amid proposed sharp cuts to one of JPL’s most noteworthy programs, Mars Sample Return.

In Feruary 2025, JPL laid off 530 employees, about 8% of its workforce and 40 contractors, In November 2024, JPL laid off an additional 325 employees to adjust for projected lower spending levels for fiscal year 2025.

The Santa Clarita Valley is home to some JPL employees who commute to the facility in Pasadena.

U.S. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) released the following statement about the cuts at JPL which is located in her Congressional District:

“I am extremely disappointed and disheartened by the hundreds of JPL layoffs announced today, and my thoughts are with all the impacted workers and their families. These layoffs are an absolute tragedy, especially as they come at a time when our community is still recovering from the Eaton Fire that destroyed thousands of homes and disrupted so many lives and livelihoods just 9 months ago. They also come on the heels of two devastating rounds of layoffs last year of over 850 JPL employees.

This is not only a tragedy for our community, but also an immense loss for our nation. JPL is a national asset that has helped the United States accomplish some of the greatest feats in space and science for decades. Every layoff devastates the highly skilled and uniquely talented workforce that has made these accomplishments possible. Taken together with last year’s layoffs, this will result in an untold loss of scientific knowledge and expertise that threatens the very future of American leadership in space exploration and scientific discovery.

As a steadfast champion of JPL and Caltech, I have been doing everything I can to protect the workforce and fight for full funding for NASA’s programs and missions. I have repeatedly led efforts in Congress pushing for funding for critical missions like Mars Sample Return led by JPL. And as Co-Chair of the Planetary Science Caucus in Congress, I have led bipartisan appropriations requests to demand that Congress fully fund NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and protect all its missions. Most recently, I have been urging Appropriators to include language in any short-term federal funding bill that would explicitly protect NASA’s budget and missions from any cuts. I will continue working tirelessly with my colleagues in Congress of both parties and will never stop fighting to protect our nation’s space program and the expert workforce that makes it all possible.”