Keith’s note: Go to NASA.gov and search for “RIF”, “Reduction In Force”. Answer – nothing. As I noted last week “The Official Federal Government RIF Plan Is Here“ NASA had not posted any mention of it online or in memos. It has been a week. NASA Headquarters has still refused to even mention the idea of a RIF – much less that the official White House plan is online elsewhere and can be read by anyone. NASA’s entire workforce is purposefully being kept in the dark. Many of you reading this will be out of a job soon. Baffling. Here it is again. “Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative” issued on 26 Feb 2025:

• Each agency will submit a Phase 1 ARRPs to OMB and OPM for review and approval no later than March 13, 2025. Phase 1 ARRPs shall focus on initial agency cuts and reductions.
• Agencies should then submit a Phase 2 ARRP to OMB and OPM for review and approval no later than April 14, 2025. Phase 2 plans shall outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward. Phase 2 plans should be planned for implementation by September 30, 2025.

Keith’s note: Huge budget cuts will soon destroy much of NASA Science. Science either enables the technology to launch a payload or (most of the time) is the prime reason for the mission in the first place. Sometimes people tag along to make sure the Science gets done – sometimes on themselves. This may be a losing battle – but fight on we must. This cannot last forever. If you ever saw “The World According to Garp” then the second half of this scene should be an object lesson. Ad astra per scientiam

Keith’s note: Some notes from inside the NASA Goddard all hands this morning: 1. while DOGE people are not currently onsite at GSFC they all have badges and have systems access to everything. They are under no obligation to inform the GSFC center director if they come in or explain what they want to do. 2. The NASA administrator will not be providing any further guidance to NASA employees regarding the latest 5 bullet email that everyone got over the weekend – so NASA employees are pretty much left to make a personal choice. A round of boos was heard when this was mentioned.

Keith’s update: Now the page is approved and online again. WTF Meta? Keith’s earlier note: Here we go again. Meta has suspended the Facebook NASAWatch page – again for “community standards violations” . They took it down a week ago, denied my repeated protests, then suddenly restored it. It has been online for ~20 years. This is what you have to put up with if you try and get news to NASA people affected by layoffs, DOGE etc. See As DOGE focuses on NASA, Facebook suspends NASAWatch. ‘A curious coincidence’? from the Houston Chronicle on 21 Feb 2025 about the earlier suspension. Oh yes – on the shutdown notice it says “Good news: no violations to show”. So – there are no violations, so why was it taken down for “violations“?

Keith’s note: Have a look at Executive Order 14222–Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative which is all about “This order commences a transformation in Federal spending on contracts, grants, and loans to ensure Government spending is transparent and Government employees are accountable to the American public.” While everyone is preparing to be fired or competes in a RIF process against other coworkers to keep their job; conducts all of that highly sophisticated rocket science stuff that keeps all the spaceships working; and/or explores the universe; they also need to worry about all of these quick turnaround tasks in the next 30-60 days (Greatest hits below):

Keith’s note: FYI I called two people at NASA HQ four times yesterday with detailed information, internal memos etc. about this harassment issue No answer. So I sat on it until I could confirm. I have confirmed them – but not from NASA PAO. Today they sent out this media response to others – but not to me. (see “NASA Employee Harassment Incidents“). You can expect that NASA will do nothing to inform its employees about this for days – if at all. There’s nothing online or in memos about this. It happened several days ago. At a time when the entire extended NASA civil servant, contractor, and scientific workforce is wondering if they will have a job tomorrow, having management that keeps them in the dark about potential threats is simply inexcusable. Everyone who works at NASA is smart. Really smart. They want facts as soon as they can get them – at least that is what they tell me. NASA HQ is not leveling with their workforce. And that is inexcusable.

Keith’s note: there are several credible reports that I have verified of incidents wherein NASA employees (civil servant and contractor) were persistently harassed outside of their office in public places like coffee shops. IMHO NASA folks should use caution outside of work with regard to wearing badges etc. NASA has sent out this statement (to some media but not others) in response to reports of these incidents: “While we generally do not report on personal matters, I would like to clarify we are hearing stories of possible harassment toward employees, but not assault. Our managers are hearing information thirdhand and using this as an opportunity to remind our teams to be mindful of their surroundings and to report any incidences to the Office of Protective Services.” See NASA Management Is Ignoring You

Keith’s note: Here we go again: more DOGE homework assignments – sent out at 9:20 pm EST on a Friday night. Update: Apparently this is now going to be regular DOGE homework on a weekly basis. Multiple agencies have reported that their employees got this notice too and agencies have responded to their workforce about how – or if – to respond. According to the Washington post: “‘NASA acting administrator Janet Petro wrote Friday to staff warning them that “government-wide communications may reach you before we receive clear implementation guidance,” according to a copy of her message reviewed by The Washington Post. If workers receive another such communication over the weekend, they should temporarily ignore it, Petro wrote. “Please give yourself a moment, and when you’re back on duty, check in with your supervisor or other agency leader before taking action,” Petro wrote. “Ultimately, we want to reduce your stress and provide clarity as we work through these requests together.”

Keith’s 27 Feb update: Yesterday (Wednesday) OMB released this memo that outlines the guidance for the upcoming RIF and mass employee termination that lies ahead. I posted it on other platforms as soon as I could. News stories about it were all over the Internet. This is an official White House plan. It is the first concrete timeline that NASA employees have with which to plan their lives. Did NASA Headquarters bother to alert their staff about this or post it online? No. Keith’s 26 Feb note: According to Guidance on Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans Requested by Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative” issued from OPM on 26 Feb 2025:

• Each agency will submit a Phase 1 ARRPs to OMB and OPM for review and approval no later than March 13, 2025. Phase 1 ARRPs shall focus on initial agency cuts and reductions.
• Agencies should then submit a Phase 2 ARRP to OMB and OPM for review and approval no later than April 14, 2025. Phase 2 plans shall outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward. Phase 2 plans should be planned for implementation by September 30, 2025.

More below.

Keith’s note: According to a variety of emails and postings and TV stories OPM has told everyone that any response to the Saturday OPM memo is “voluntary” and that no one is at risk of being fired for not responding.