NASA is about to lose a lot of people.
Nearly 4,000 agency employees have chosen to accept the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” option, reducing the agency’s workforce by more than 20%.
Those numbers come courtesy of NASA News Chief Cheryl Warner, who shared them in an email to reporters on Friday evening (July 25).
The deferred resignation program (DRP) — which places participants on paid administrative leave until an agreed-upon departure date — is part of the White House’s effort to reduce spending across government.
So far, NASA employees have had two chances to apply to the DRP. During the first phase, which featured a February application deadline, about 870 employees, or 4.8% of the workforce, said yes, according to Warner. About 3,000 — 16.4% of the agency’s staff — did so during the second phase, whose deadline passed just before midnight EDT on Friday, she added. That latter number includes folks who opted in to two similar programs, the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program.
The numbers could change a bit in the coming weeks, Warner stressed. For example, some people may withdraw their resignations, and others may have their applications rejected.
NASA has lost about 500 people via normal attrition as well since Trump took office in January. Counting those losses, NASA’s workforce will shrink to about 14,000 by Jan. 9, 2026, when the employees who said yes during the DRP’s second phase will come off the rolls, Warner said in the statement.
Based on those numbers, the DRP and related efforts will be responsible for a roughly 21% cut to NASA’s workforce.
The buyouts are part of a concerted White House effort to shrink NASA spending. For example, in his 2026 federal budget request, Trump proposed cutting the agency’s overall funding by 24% and slashing the agency’s science budget by nearly half.
Such moves have sparked protests by scientists, engineers and regular folks who care about space science and exploration. For example, nearly 300 NASA scientists recently signed the “Voyager Declaration,” warning that the budget cuts, if enacted, would have devastating effects on American science and could impact astronaut safety.