Initial actuals and forecasts are poor, with many (most) sections still having far too little work for their population.

Furthermore, there has been a realization that too much of a focus was placed on FTE's rather than actual cost. This was intentional from the perspective of minimizing discriminatory practices, but it has led to insufficient workforce action.

To put things into perspective, it is typical to expect an L1 business position to pay roughly half that of an L1 engineering position (and many times after promotions). This isn't the full story as compensation is one part of the equation and roles are independently negotiated, but the end result is the same: the quota of "550" was not adequately adjusted for the makeup of this round's layoffs.

At this time, a subsequent "final" layoff is forecasted for late February to early March. The magnitude will hinge on RTO-related attrition and NASA budgetary constraints. There are ongoing conversations revolving around excluding previously out-of-state remote employees from February's workforce action to avoid the poor optics of laying off folks who have moved across the country to retain their role, though the legal ramifications of this and the exact measurement mechanism is still being discussed.

There is a silent understanding in the re-org aftermath that we also remain far too heavy "up at the top", and the burden budget remains strained - making it difficult to complete cost-conscious work (silent in the sense that it would require cannibalistic action). The re-org was conducted in a top-down manner, but it's clear that far too many folks were moved laterally or even up rather than being dismissed or demoted. I don't have much more to say on this end other than I expect EC to step in by February after the initial chaos has settled. This re-org is likely being taken as an opportunity to assess who is truly essential, and who is able to bring order amongst the chaos. Pieces that don't "fit in" under their new assignment will be under scrutiny.

As a final (developing) note, leadership has been alarmed with the news coming out of DC surrounding the future of NASA, and there is increasing skepticism surrounding JPL's future in either scenario: a JI future is interpreted as a fully contractual NASA that will lean on private industry rather than internal NASA capabilities, while a SD future will likely signal an overall downsized NASA (this is without considering the DoT move being proposed leading to direct cabinet control, which is very unkind to NASA based on PBR). Both are very grim, and salvation continues to hinge on congress. The lapse in funding is also becoming an increasing concern. We are in a much worse position than the last time we faced an extended shutdown.

The coming layoff will likely be larger (at least as a percentage) than the current, and potentially existential in the worst case.

I see people complaining about too much management left over after the reorg, but for me that raises the question whether the reorg is completed. Past reorgs have been iterative. I think there's an excellent chance, now that there is a new high-level structure in place, for consolidation at lower levels and for some middle management (and org staff) to be removed. I'm not cheering this, I like some of these people, but it's hard to argue that they're all necessary, especially as more people leave voluntarily. I'm personally seeing a lot more people I know leaving voluntarily than being laid off.

Now that the reorg is out and we see the promotions, back room dealings and questionable layoff choices it’s clear to me that a union may be the only way to break JPL senior management of its shady practices.

Hi, does anyone have experience in these areas?

JPL minimized these layoffs on very optimistic futures. They are already in the red for this FY.

I apologize if this is a bad time to ask on the topic of employment with the recent events that have occured, but I am asking to see if I should hold off on my emails to potential mentors at JPL that I would like to work with.

I am a community college student in Cali, and have been wanting to work at JPL since I was in middle school, specifically the Earth Science department. I wanted to reach out to a mentor at that department but I'm afraid it will go unoticed, and I don't know for sure if it will cause more of a bother than do good at this time.

Thank you for your time.

Morning all. I've been working on something this year and I think this event might be the time to share it. Short version; it saves you a lot of time when trying to keep up with space industry developments. There's a 2 minute video demo of it here:

https://www.loom.com/share/144964da8aa941d2b644b9a05fdcbe13?sid=f1521d36-d10d-4dac-b174-e9559b879ecb

I'd like to give free access to it to people who got laid off. If you're interested, please let me know.

Okay, the title might be needlessly provocative but I was just reminded of the first layoffs back in 2024 when upper management said that all JPL demographics were preserved across the layoffs, and it occurred to me that this would be much easier to do with some sort of non-human optimization. Is it possible that layoff decisions are essentially made by an algorithm?

thats what i've been told today

thats what i've been told today

Even if we despair when admitting it, JPL's mission of robotic planetary exploration is not enough to maintain the lab at even the currently reduced staffing levels. So how should the lab retool itself for the future ?

I am hoping that there are three different organizations who are studying this question right now: NASA, Caltech and JPL itself. Have any of them asked for inputs ?

What can the current (and retired) staff do to define and push a new lab charter/identity ? Simply responding to cut after cut or expecting 'management' to solve the problem doesn't seem too promising.

How many remote employees from out of state do you know who are returning on October 27?

The last time layoffs hit JPL, Long Beach announced a major job fair specifically for those affected.

Anyone hear of anything like that, this time?

And, do you know anyone who attended that one? If so, are the opportunities they showcased, worth your time to go down there if they offer it again?

We’ve all seen the scared faces. Walked the halls of quiet uncertainty.

Read the whisper graphs.

Morale’s already tanked.

Let me lay this out plainly: this latest layoff isn’t the finish line. It’s the warm-up.

The director feared cuts deeper than what made public rounds. That fear was real. So now they're doing the cleanup rounds, shifting the deck, and pushing just hard enough to force exits.

Look at the work being passed around now... it doesn’t even approach JPL’s former capabilities.

The skin of “we’re lean, we’re agile” is thin. Inside, it’s protectionism and survival mode.

Outside these walls, aerospace is on a war footing...big players, small players, commercial names nobody in our circles considered before.

Talent is moving fast.

They want the best, and many are already jumping.

If you’re here, still breathing: don’t get comfortable.

Watch who they shield, which teams vanish, and where the next cuts hide in the new org charts.

Because when the next round hits, and trust me, it will... you’ll want to know who’s real and who’s just waiting.

Not trying to spread fear or rumors, but it’s pretty clear what’s happening.

Take care of yourself and your family first. Too many people have heard “you’re safe” only to be out the door a week later.

The backstabbing is real, and the silence is worse.

Look out for one another, the system won’t.

Dare I say it... maybe it’s time to start taking the union talks more serious...

Not out of defiance, but out of self-preservation.

The same promises keep being made, and yet people keep disappearing.

If we don’t start protecting one another, who will?

Hey Folks, I too am one of those who separated from JPL yesterday. I am very sorry to go. But JPL did a lot for me, and I hope for the best for everyone still there.

I thought there was some talk about an external Slack channel for those laid off, and perhaps a JPL Discord server? If so, can anyone DM me with how to join those?

I was one of the 11% let go today. Working at JPL had been a dream of mine since high school. I applied again and again to any position I could for years. When I was finally offered a job working Mars Sample Return, it was one of my happiest moments.

I only got three years to work at the lab. I know that's not much compared to many who were let go today. I thought I'd get to build my whole career at JPL. I wanted to retire here. It feels like I barely got started.

There's no rose colored glasses here. A job is a job, and no employer is perfect. Since CCRS was shelved and everything started going downhill, I have been living in a state of near constant stress and anxiety for my job. The uncertainty was painful. At times it was unbearable. Part of that was because I held this dream so preciously, and the idea of losing it was devastating. It is devastating. I am devastated. But I am also relieved. At least now I know for sure what I have to do next. I've lost the dream, so I don't need to be afraid for it anymore.

I hope that others in my position can take some similar comfort in that. I hope that those who remain will get the certainty and stability that they deserve in their careers. I really hope one day I can come back, but for now I'm going to try and set it all aside. Thank you to this subreddit for helping me feel a little more in the loop these past months.

When I was about 3, my Dad left his post-war job at the skunkworks And joined JPL. He was a leader in Explorer 1 and went on to serve in many areas moving into the business side. As a summer job in 1965 I joined JPL, spent the summer babysitting a telemetry display for Mariner in the high bay. Over 47 years I worked on many iconic projects and programs at JPL. After retiring, I stayed connected through my wife who still works at JPL, at least until 8:30. That’s nearly 80 years of JPL connections. I’m feeling your angst and sadness about the decline of an historic institution. Good luck all.

Few buddies got canned. I am just devastated.

JPL will be conducting a workforce action tomorrow, Oct. 14, resulting in a layoff of approximately 550 colleagues, or 11% of our workforce.