Status Report

NASA ARC Internal Memo: Message from the Director – Follow-up to Buyout

By SpaceRef Editor
January 24, 2005
Filed under ,

From: Centerwide Announcement CenterWide@arcwmail.arc.nasa.gov

Date: January 24, 2005 2:32:57 PM EST

TO: Resident Staff

FROM: G. Scott Hubbard, Center Director

SUBJECT: Message from the Director – Follow-up to Buyout

On January 7, I promised to keep you informed. This message is to describe the Center’s status now that the second buy-out window has closed.

As you may have heard already, Ames has not achieved its target on the buyout. Despite a surge at the end, only 34 people took the buyout. You recall that we needed 80 people to take the buyout in order to reduce uncovered capacity, and maintain stable overhead rates (and therefore the Center’s competitive posture).

At the time of this message, the FY05 budget is still unclear – in part because the full impact of Congressional earmarks is not yet resolved. Consequently we do not yet know the full range of actions that will be required to “balance the books.”

However, in the short term, we will begin implementing several measures to control costs:

  • Freezing of virtually all new contractor tasks starting immediately
  • Reductions in contractor tasks in areas where budget reductions are clear and unambiguous. This will probably result in contractor layoffs
  • Aggressive pursuit of “in-sourcing” to reduce tasks being done under contract, and instead use existing civil servants to perform those tasks
  • Hosting of a job-fair for civil servants to pursue work opportunities at other NASA Centers, other governmental organizations, and in private industry
  • Reductions in the awards and training budgets
  • Reductions in all institutional budgets

The job fairs will take place at Ames and other Centers with unfunded capacity (LARC, GRC, MSFC). At Ames, the first round of these job fairs will be held on March 3 and 15. A Centerwide message describing the job-fair in detail will be issued in the near future.

There will be a Center All-hands in the Main Auditorium at 1 p.m. on February 7 following the release of the FY06 budget. I hope to be able to give you further clarification at that time.

I would like to express the Center’s appreciation to all those who took the buyout. We have valued your contributions to Ames in the past, and consider your willingness to take this step as a further help to the Center.

If you would like to respond to this memo electronically, you may do so by double-clicking: mailto:Ingrid.Desilvestre@nasa.gov

SpaceRef staff editor.