HOUSTON, Texas – NASA announced on Monday that it will close three of its offices and lay off several staff members as the company prepares to reduce its workforce under the Trump administration.
The offices that will be affected are the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist; and the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. The employees of those offices, 23 in total, will be laid off.
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KPRC 2 reached out to the Johnson Space Center to see if any of the Houston area employees would be affected. They released the following statement.
“To optimize our workforce, and in compliance with an Executive Order, NASA is beginning its phased approach to a reduction in force, known as a RIF. A small number of individuals received notification Monday they are a part of NASA’s RIF. If they’re eligible, those employees may opt to participate in the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, or VERA, or complete the RIF process.”
In a memo to agency employees, NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro said the layoffs were part of broader efforts mandated by the White House to reduce the size of the federal workforce through what is officially known as a “Workforce Optimization Initiative” in an executive order issued Feb. 11. That order directed agencies to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force” with a report due in 30 days on “whether the agency or any of its subcomponents should be eliminated or consolidated.”
“In compliance with this directive, we are actively working with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to develop a thoughtful approach that aligns with both administration priorities and our mission needs,” Petro wrote in the memo. “While this will mean making difficult adjustments, we’re viewing this as an opportunity to reshape our workforce, ensuring we are doing what is statutorily required of us, while also providing American citizens with an efficient and effective agency.”
NASA created the Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy in 2021.
The agency had already moved to close its diversity office two days after President Trump was inaugurated. The website of NASA’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity was taken offline Jan. 22, along with those of similar offices at its field centers.