NASA Loses Thousands Of Employees Due To Donald Trump's Government Program

NASA lost thousands of employees (photo: Doc. NASA)

JAKARTA NASA will lose thousands of workers due to the massive budget cuts experienced by the space agency. This was revealed directly by NASA's Head of News, Cheryl Warner.

Warner, according to Space, stated that nearly 4,000 employees participated in the suspended resignation program (DRP) from the White House. This is an effort by the administration of the US President, Donald Trump, in reducing expenses in all institutions.

Thousands of these employees took part in the two opportunities offered by the government. In the first phase, with the deadline falling in February 2025, there were 870 employees or about 4.8 percent of the total employees who registered.

Meanwhile, the surge in registrants increased in the second phase. About 3,000 employees or 16.4 percent of the total employees participated in the program. The second phase is known to end on Friday, July 25, 2025.

Based on this data, NASA experienced a 21 percent reduction in employees. Warner confirmed that the data could experience a slight change in the coming weeks.

Basically, this program is detrimental to NASA. When employees are registered in the DRP program, they still receive salaries until September 30 without the need to work directly. In fact, their duties can be reduced or even eliminated.

Not only lost employees due to the DRP program, NASA also lost 500 people after Trump took office in January 2025. According to NASA estimates, the company will lose 14,000 employees on January 9, 2026.

This is a setback for NASA, especially since workers seem to have given up on the institution's circumstances. Recently, a group of workers at NASA staged a demonstration demanding Congressional assistance.

This demonstration was held across from the Badminton National Air and Space Museum on July 20, 2025. Nearly a hundred people were present to voice their voices and urged Congress to minimize the losses suffered by the institution and its employees.