Trump Congress Tax Cuts

President Donald Trump holds a gavel after he signed his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Washington, surrounded by members of Congress. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Over 2,000 senior-level NASA employees are set to leave under the space agency’s push to shed staff, according to internal documents cited by Politico. These employees represent critical managerial and technical expertise, making up the majority of the 2,694 civil staff who have agreed to leave NASA under a slate of offers like early retirement, buyouts, or deferred resignations as part of broader federal workforce reduction efforts.

The 2,145 employees are those in senior-level government ranks that are typically reserved for those with specialised skills or management responsibilities. The losses are concentrated at higher levels, with 875 GS-15 employees set to leave, according to the documents.

1,818 targeted staff are from science and human space flight roles, leaving the rest performing mission support roles like IT, facilities management or finance.

The departures align with a proposed 2026 White House budget that seeks 25 per cent cut in NASA’s funding. The proposed budget also calls for a reduction of the space agency’s staff by over 5,000 – a move expected to shrink the agency to its smallest size since the early 1960s.

All 10 NASA regional centers are facing a loss of expertise. As per the report, Goddard Space Flight Center is expected to face the most cut (losing 607 staff), followed by Johnson Space Center 366, Kennedy Space Center 311, NASA headquarters 307, Langley Research Center 281, Marshall Space Flight Center 279, and Glenn Research Center 191.

Lot of Experience Drain

The exodus, including of staff critical to lunar missions by mid-2027 and future Mars plans, has made experts question the strategy behind the move.

“You’re losing the managerial and core technical expertise of the agency,” warned Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society, according to Times of India report.

A departing NASA staffer, speaking anonymously, said the cuts affect “a lot of experience drain,” potentially disrupting operations.

Another employee said many people volunteered for early retirement due to fear of deeper budget cuts and the absence of a Senate-approved NASA administrator as factors in their decision to leave.

With only half of the White House’s targeted 5,000 staff reductions met, there are fears that further involuntary cuts loom if participation in the deferred resignation program, ending July 25, falls short.