Nearly 4,000 NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

Nearly 4,000 NASA employees have opted to leave the space agency through the Trump administration's deferred resignation program, NASA said on Saturday.

The cuts amount to an estimated 20% of NASA's workforce, and will reduce the agency from 18,000 to 14,000 employees, NASA spokesperson Cheryl Warner said in a statement shared with NPR. The total number includes the agency's loss of 500 other workers due to normal attrition, she said.

During a second round of the program, which closed at midnight Friday, 3,000 employees applied to leave the agency, Warner said, following the 870 employees that applied to leave during the first round.

The resignations follow the Trump administration's plan to reduce the federal workforce and implement cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

NPR has reached out to the White House for comment.

It's unclear when the full reduction of the workforce will take effect, Warner said. NASA did not respond to NPR's questions about how the workforce cuts will affect the agency.

The administration has also proposed decreasing NASA's budget. A fiscal year 2026 budget request released in May would reduce funding for the agency by about 24% (from nearly $25 billion to nearly $19 billion.) But the House and Senate are discussing recommendations that would keep funding for the agency around the current budget.

Concerning funding beyond the next fiscal year, however, the agency recently got a boost — reversing earlier proposals to retire some NASA programs. Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act that he signed into law earlier this month, allocates nearly $10 billion in additional funding for NASA through 2032, including backing for Mars missions and plans to return to the moon.

The White House's proposed budget cuts and changes at the agency have faced criticism from scientists and space organizations, including The Planetary Society, a nonprofit led by Bill Nye, "The Science Guy."

"The Planetary Society believes that a great nation deserves a great space program, one that reflects our national ideals and serves the public interest," the organization said about the White House budget proposal in May. "This proposal doesn't merely fall short — it actively rejects that promise, undermining the rare opportunity NASA provides to build unity at home and collaboration abroad through American leadership."

On Monday, more than 300 current and former NASA employees signed and sent a letter known as the "Voyager Declaration" to interim NASA administrator Sean Duffy, criticizing "rapid and wasteful changes" at the agency that they say include cuts to programs and research. They also urged Duffy to not implement the proposed cuts and said "they are not in the best interest of NASA."