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4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

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Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#211

Post by kmeisthax »

Balgair wrote: post #156
bradley13 wrote: post #59

I'm sure the bureaucracy can stand some serious cutting. However, with voluntary programs like this, you tend to lose the best people.

Hot Take: Maybe this DOGE approach of sledgehammering the bureaucracies is all there is left to do? Look, I have family that works for the Feds. I have also collected money from federal programs. I know the pain that is coming and is here. It really really sucks, and it will suck for me too, though not as badly. But the 'scalpel' approach where you go in, understand the system, take out the bad parts, leave the good,…

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Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#212

Post by kylecordes »

orochimaaru wrote: post #121
rockskon wrote: post #73

NASA has been downsizing a lot. Friend of mine is a contractor for NASA who has been trained as a parts engineer for sourcing and testing electronic components that go into satellites and spacecrafts will be out of a job in a few months as her entire branch is eliminating all contractor positions. Now she has a specialized skillset that isn't very readily transferable to other local companies and industries. Sucks. C…

Why won’t the skillset be transferable to places like space x, Amazon kuiper, blue origin, or any of the big defense tech or start ups (eg anduril)?

Likely so, but you have probably listed a bunch of organizations already utterly swamped with eager and qualified job candidates relative to their hiring numbers.

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#213

Post by bix6 »

mosesbp wrote: post #154

Does anyone have access to a copy of the NASA statement on this that was shared with the media? It makes a big difference where in NASA these people were employed - this is the difference between slimming down an engineering division or cancelling one launch project and the total destruction of a smaller program for physics, which may have a much longer-term impact on US science.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/09/nasa-staff-departur...

“You’re losing the managerial and core technical expertise of the agency,” said Casey Dreier, chief of space policy at The Planetary Society.

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#214

Post by TechDebtDevin »

rockskon wrote: post #73

NASA has been downsizing a lot. Friend of mine is a contractor for NASA who has been trained as a parts engineer for sourcing and testing electronic components that go into satellites and spacecrafts will be out of a job in a few months as her entire branch is eliminating all contractor positions. Now she has a specialized skillset that isn't very readily transferable to other local companies and industries. Sucks. C…

Well this antecdote kind of gets in the way of the other antecdotes, that NASA is being privatized. Maybe this is just a way of forcing specialized labor into certain outfits (Space X, Costa Mesa, SF.. )

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#215

Post by Aurornis »

nine_zeros wrote: post #194
samrus wrote: post #153

I understand wanting to make the organization more efficient, but i don't think this is what's happening here. I think this is the classic republican strat of gutting federal agencies, pointing to the inefficiencies caused by the loss of institutional knowledge, and using that as an excuse to privatize to their friends. The fact that Elon's DOGE suggested these cuts lines up

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> As an example, they gutted NC DMV. So quality of service and wait times deteriorated. Then they go out and say that government doesn't work - must be sold to their private owner buddies.

They’re suggesting the DMV is privatized? Can you share a link?

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#216

Post by TechDebtDevin »

Robotbeat wrote: post #124
rockskon wrote: post #73

NASA has been downsizing a lot. Friend of mine is a contractor for NASA who has been trained as a parts engineer for sourcing and testing electronic components that go into satellites and spacecrafts will be out of a job in a few months as her entire branch is eliminating all contractor positions. Now she has a specialized skillset that isn't very readily transferable to other local companies and industries. Sucks. C…

The satellite industry in the US is larger than ever, FWIW. Between Starlink, OneWeb, Kuiper, plus a gazillion startups like Astranis, K2 Space, etc, not to mention defense satellites, there has never been a time when more satellites have been launched by the U.S. I think your friend will be fine. The real issue is the capability loss for NASA.

I think that's what this is, the 4k people in NASA probably never would have quit (great benefits or whatever), maybe the strategist at the top (whether they are right or not) think its better for this talent to be concentrated at private firms? And tbf, the private sector does move fast :/

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#217

Post by notahacker »

olddustytrail wrote: post #197
maxloh wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know that people wanted to stay in their own country. However, she could likely get a good position in the space industry in Europe. The bottom line is, she would be very likely to get a good salary, even better than she did in the US, in China, Russia, or India, which are desperately seeking space specialists with experience in more advanced technologies. It is a shame that the US couldn't even keep their payroll,…

Both India and China hold Most Favoured Nation status with the USA. That hardly marks them as enemies.

"enemies" is a strong word, especially for India. But NASA is explicitly banned from cooperating with Chinese agencies by law, so it's not like the US hasn't established a position of not waiting China to have access to NASA knowhow...

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#218

Post by Tadpole9181 »

Aurornis wrote: post #215
nine_zeros wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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> As an example, they gutted NC DMV. So quality of service and wait times deteriorated. Then they go out and say that government doesn't work - must be sold to their private owner buddies. They’re suggesting the DMV is privatized? Can you share a link?

It's the first result on Google for "NC privatize DMV".

https://www.carolinajournal.com/nc-house-moves-toward-privat...

> The North Carolina House has officially taken a first step toward privatizing the infamously mismanaged Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), as issues and customer complaints have persisted for years.

> The proposed budget released on Monday includes a provision that would begin the process of privatizing DMV services by creating a new pilot program to allow third-party vendors to handle driver’s license renewals, a function traditionally managed solely by the state.

> The reforms come amid increasing legislative pressure to modernize DMV operations. State leaders have repeatedly criticized the DMV’s operations, arguing that the division “would be out of business if it were in the private sector.” With no notable improvement in sight, Rep. Jake Johnson, R-Polk, has been behind the push for legislative action. Earlier this year, he proposed overhauling the DMV’s structure by taking it out of the Department of Transportation.

Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#219

Post by mandeepj »

nine_zeros wrote: post #194
samrus wrote: post #153

I understand wanting to make the organization more efficient, but i don't think this is what's happening here. I think this is the classic republican strat of gutting federal agencies, pointing to the inefficiencies caused by the loss of institutional knowledge, and using that as an excuse to privatize to their friends. The fact that Elon's DOGE suggested these cuts lines up

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Re: 4k NASA employees opt to leave agency through deferred resignation program

#220

Post by waltbosz »

nine_zeros wrote: post #194
samrus wrote: post #153

I understand wanting to make the organization more efficient, but i don't think this is what's happening here. I think this is the classic republican strat of gutting federal agencies, pointing to the inefficiencies caused by the loss of institutional knowledge, and using that as an excuse to privatize to their friends. The fact that Elon's DOGE suggested these cuts lines up

[flagged]

Is the privatized NC DMV any better than the public one? I was just at the Delaware DMV getting my 2 vehicles inspected and registration renewed, and while not an entirely horrible experience, it did seem like there were a lot of inefficiencies and complacentcy.

I've also noticed the difference in the US post offices around me and the FedEx stores and wonder why the post offices aren't nicer customer experiences.

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