NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab ending telework policy for over 1,000 employees

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has told more than 1,000 telework employees that they must return to on-site work.

The move effectively ends remote work at JPL, which had been a fixture at the Pasadena, California lab since the pandemic. 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 potential 25% reduction in funds via the Trump administration's 2026 "skinny budget" request. The proposed cut is raising broader concerns across NASA about the future of key programs, including planetary defense efforts and upcoming space science missions — many of which are run by JPL, the agency's lead center for robotic planetary exploration.

JPL is federally funded, but managed by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Last year, through two separate rounds of layoffs in February and November, JPL dismissed more than 12% of its workforce — about 855 employees. The lab cited budgetary concerns and funding shortfalls tied to the restructured Mars Sample Return mission campaign, which the Trump administration's 2026 budget proposal cancels outright.

The new end to telework means that affected employees now face the choice to return to the office or lose their jobs without qualifying for post-employment benefits or the possibility of filing for unemployment.

"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," a NASA employee at JPL not authorized to speak on behalf of the agency told Space.com.

Some of JPL's teleworkers may not be in a position to choose at all. A number of them are still recovering from damage and displacement caused by the Palisades Fire in January, which led to the lab's temporary closure and affected housing and commuter options for lab employees across Southern California. Employees in this position may be granted "time-limited" exceptions, but those will be "extremely rare," the email to employees said, and will require approval by the JPL director and site leadership.

Remote employees at JPL have until July 20 to indicate whether they intend to return to in-office work, or ostensibly quit their jobs.

The new in-person requirement has introduced fresh uncertainty to an ongoing uneasiness being felt across NASA, as the agency aligns itself with new federal mandates. For example, some JPL employees returning to on-site work may find no dedicated space for them to do their job. "There isn't even enough parking," the JPL employee said. JPL officials dispute this, telling Space.com in an email the facility would be able to accommodate the return of telework employees if all opted to return.

The policy shift also comes just two weeks after former JPL Director Laurie Leshin announced she would be stepping down from her position leading the lab, effective June 1. She penned the recent employee-wide email with incoming Director Dave Gallagher. The decision, according to JPL officials, is one that was made within JPL, and not directed by NASA.