The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) expects its workforce to decrease by 3,780 to about 14,000, the agency’s spokesperson Cheryl Warner told TASS.

According to Warner, NASA seeks to “balance the need to become a more streamlined and more efficient organization and work to ensure we remain fully capable of pursuing a Golden Era of exploration and innovation, including to the Moon and Mars.”

Warner said some 3,870 employees (21 percent of NASA’s workforce) agreed to take part in two deferred resignation programs, which provide staff members with an opportunity to resign voluntarily in return for additional payment or other concessions.

“NASA’s expected remaining civil servant workforce following both deferred resignation programs, as well as normal attrition (about 500) over the same time period: about 14,000,” the spokesperson said, adding that “these numbers may fluctuate.”

Earlier, US President Donald Trump’s administration initiated major staff reductions in a number of agencies.

Entrepreneur Elon Musk, who until recently headed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), was actively involved in the work. (PNA)