The facility's California-based personnel must report on-site by August 25, while remote staff living out of state have until October 27 to return. Workers are required to submit their formal return declarations by July 20 to maintain employment. The transition arrives on the heels of roughly 855 layoffs last year and coincides with a leadership handover from Director Laurie Leshin to incoming Director Dave Gallagher. Despite concerns regarding parking, desk space, and lingering disruptions from January's Palisades Fire, management stated that temporary exemptions will be extremely rare.
Key points
The policy arrives amid significant fiscal pressure, following the layoff of roughly 855…: The policy arrives amid significant fiscal pressure, following the layoff of roughly 855 employees tied to Mars Sample Return mission budget shortfalls.
Proposed federal budget reductions could slash NASA funding by 25% and entirely cancel th…: Proposed federal budget reductions could slash NASA funding by 25% and entirely cancel the Mars Sample Return program.
Leadership confirmed the on-site requirement was an internal decision rather than a manda…: Leadership confirmed the on-site requirement was an internal decision rather than a mandate issued directly by NASA.
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NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab ending remote work policy for nearly 5,500 employees. 'Employees who do not return by their required date will be considered to have resigned.'
"It's clear that it's a silent layoff of the over 1,000 remote employees who they don't want to pay severance to."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has told more than 5,500 hybrid and telework employees that they must return to a full on-site work schedule.
The move effectively ends remote work at JPL, which had been a fixture at the Pasadena, California lab since the pandemic. Many of JPL's nearly 5,500 employees work on hybrid, or fully-remote schedules. Employees were notified via email Thursday (May 22) that an end to telework would take effect on Aug. 25 for general employees within California, and Oct. 27 for teleworkers living outside the state.
"Employees who do not return by their required date will be considered to have resigned," JPL officials said in a workforce-wide email that was obtained by Space.com.
The decision comes amid widespread budget concerns across the space agency, as NASA faces a…
The uncontrolled atmospheric re-entry over northern Sumatra concludes an extended scientific mission tracking high-energy cosmic explosions far beyond its original two-year timeline. Intensified solar activity expanded the upper atmosphere, creating fatal drag for the propulsionless satellite after a robotic rescue attempt failed earlier in the year. Although dense structural fragments likely survived, no damage or casualties have been reported.
Concerns over space security have heightened following an expert assessment regarding recent orbital activities by Moscow. A specialist highlighted that potential rehearsals for anti-satellite operations may have been conducted, while also warning that an alternative targeting method exists. Such developments raise questions regarding the vulnerability of orbital assets and the evolving strategies being explored for extraterrestrial defense conflicts.
Increased solar activity accelerated atmospheric drag on the aging Swift Observatory, culminating in its atmospheric reentry near Indonesia. The loss highlights the vulnerability of low-Earth orbit assets to space weather and follows an unsuccessful commercial attempt to elevate the craft. NASA is now applying lessons from this incident to evaluate private sector proposals to safeguard the Hubble Space Telescope from a similar fate.