Keith’s note: Has anyone heard NASA’s part-time leader Sean Duffy recently reach out, motivate his NASA workforce, seek out shutdown, furlough, RIF, layoff, concerns – or otherwise show visible, enduring support for their hardship? Or does DOT get all of his attention? Just wondering.

Keith’s note: The unions that represent some NASA employees continue to push back. Oddly JPL was trying to thwart union organization when the sky started to fall and other NASA centers merely tolerated unions. Now, as the White House severs their role with NASA – and all the professional space industry organizations mostly sit on their hands – they let the layoffs and budget cuts happen. But the Unions have risen to the challenge and now lead the way in championing the collective well being of space community employees. Bravo. For all of you non-union types, a large Bravo Zulu (“well done”) for the unions is in order. See “Legal challenges against Trump’s union EOs continue to proliferate” at Government Executive: “The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers has filed its second lawsuit seeking to block President Trump’s effort to strip collective bargaining rights from two-thirds of the federal workforce, this time on behalf of NASA workers.”

Keith’s note: A judge has halted the new round of layoffs during the Shutdown – but OMB has only just begun to lay people off. Or try to.

• Judge blocks Trump admin from laying off federal workers during government shutdown, Politico: “U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, a Clinton appointee based in California, ruled from the bench after an afternoon hearing, saying that the administration isn’t following legal requirements for conducting reductions in force, or RIFs, and that officials have exceeded their authorities. Illston also cited public comments about the shutdown made by President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought, adding that the layoffs appear to be unlawfully targeted at Democrats.”
• Trump admin federal job cuts likely to be ‘north of 10,000,’ Vought says, CNBC “The Trump administration could slash more than 10,000 federal jobs during the government shutdown, White House budget director Russell Vought said Wednesday. “We want to be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy, not just the funding,” said Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget. “We now have an opportunity to do that, and that’s where we’re going to be looking for our opportunities.”

(Originally posted 30 Sep 2025) To The NASA Family: Selfish, shortsighted power brokers are toying with America’s technological leadership in a game of brinksmanship. People suffer as a result. It is people who enable science agencies and research organizations to discover and explore the unknown. From subatomic structure and the chemistry of life – to the structure of the universe and the tools to explore it – NASA is singular in its ability to explore existence at every known scale of time and cosmic organization. More below

Keith’s note: some reactions to JPL’s job layoffs. If the PBR is enacted in whole or in part – and OMB continues to cut and RIF – then this may be just a preview.

• JPL Hit With Another 550 Layoffs as NASA’s Budget Crisis Deepens, Gizmodo, “If you really want NASA to be that leader—not just to win, but also to show why we won—you would be doing the exact opposite of what you’re doing at NASA right now,” Cowing said.”

• JPL, the Southern California NASA center, is laying off hundreds of employees, LAIst, “The JPL that we knew is gone,” said one employee, who has worked at JPL for over 10 years and lamented the repeated layoffs. The engineer also described an ongoing brain drain and a feeling of despondency among the staff. LAist agreed not to name the person, who feared reprisal for speaking publicly.”

• NASA’s JPL cuts 550 jobs in latest round of layoffs at La Cañada Flintridge facility, LA Times, “Layoffs and attrition have reduced JPL’s overall staffing by about one-third in the last two years, sources at the organization said, from roughly 6,500 to around 4,500 after this week’s reduction. JPL endured three rounds of layoffs last year alone, prompted by massive federal budget cuts for its beleaguered Mars Sample Return mission.”

• JPL Workforce Decimated, EOS, “Federal whistleblowers, however, have come forward with evidence that NASA leadership has been operating as if the President’s Budget Request (PBR)—not the appropriations bill—is in effect, directing mission wind-down operations and staff reductions under the assumption of a 20% overall budget cut. Some of that lost spending would affect JPL’s ability to plan, build, and operate Earth science missions and space exploration spacecraft.”

Keith’s note: In a “A message from JPL Director Dave Gallagher” a JPL layoff of 500 people has been announced that is “not related to the current government shutdown”. Full memo below:

Keith’s note: This tweet was posted by Russell Vought, the Director of OMB this afternoon. Will NASA issue RIF notices? We’ll soon find out. Hang in there.

Keith’s note: Things are moving fast here in Washington DC. Chaos reigns. The President quasi-communicates via social media. With a shutdown that shows no indication of being resolved, the White House has explicitly stated that they are moving ahead with plans to lay off thousands of employees across the Federal government. Every agency has provided their plans according to the White House. Administration sources say that the layoffs could start as early as Friday morning. The President overtly targets “Democrat Agencies” for these layoffs. So, if you are looking for answers – what do I know? I guess it all comes down to whether the Administration considers NASA – or some part thereof – to be a “Democrat Agency”. Or not. All I can suggest is to hang on and keep the dream alive. Ad Astra. None of you deserve this.

Keith’s note: The White House / OMB are taking a stark stance on “imminent” layoffs across the government. They want people gone. Meanwhile NASA’s top leadership is going to receptions in Australia at IAC. Stories below.

Keith’s note: The news stories are piling up about the growing threat of actual layoffs – on top of furloughs – across the Federal government. OMB Director Vought is not mincing words. Of course, NASA HQ has plans for this – ready to be implemented – quickly. But it you try and get some information on this, well, all of NASA PAO is now on furlough and they won’t respond anyway since the White House/OMB has issued very strict and blunt warnings about doing so. Here’s a quick list of what’s out there. Hang in there.

• White House to begin firing federal workers within a “day or two”, Axios: “Vought told House Republicans that he’ll spend the next week figuring out “constitutionally” what the administration can do in terms of shrinking the federal work force, according to a source on the call. He also said the layoffs will be “consequential.”

• Memo from Congressional Budget Office, CBO
• Federal layoffs day or two away, budget director tells Republicans on shutdown call, The Hill
• Russ Vought’s directive to fire federal workers during a shutdown is illegal says Rep. James Walkinshaw, MSNBC
• Patent Office Lays Off Staff as Government Shutdown Begins, Bloomberg
• White House warns of imminent layoffs during government shutdown, USA Today