Faced with physical limitations and federally driven budget constraints, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory has announced plans to consolidate the work force at its principal facility in La Canada Flintridge and at a nearby site in Altadena over the next five years.
The consolidation plan, announced today in a memorandum to JPL staff by Laboratory Director Dr. Edward C. Stone, will result in a combined reduction in JPL staff and on-site contractors of about 200 employees per year.
Physical limitations at JPL to house staff and the high costs of leasing office space in the Pasadena community were cited as strong incentives for the move to gradually downsize JPL's work force. The Laboratory is taking measures commensurate with federal agencies which have been asked to scale back work force size to meet new goals of operational efficiency.
"As a federally funded laboratory and a national resource of considerable competence, we have a responsibility to mobilize our staff in such a way that we can accommodate a high volume of work with a relatively lean staff size," Stone explained in his memorandum to employees.
Located on 176 acres of federally owned property, JPL is an operating division of the California Institute of Technology, and employs approximately 7,500 JPL staff and on-site contractors.
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