NASA HQ Memo: NASA Early Retirement and Buyout Incentives
As part of NASA’s transformation, we are conducting a
comprehensive workforce review to determine what skills we will
need to staff our missions and programs, analyze skills inherent
in the workforce, and determine where there may be gaps. By
planning for future staffing needs, we can align our human
capital strategically to our bold mission objectives.
This process is about competency management and encouraging
people to consider their options in a transformed NASA. This
effort is not aimed at downsizing the NASA workforce. The
objective is not to cut staffing levels, but to rebalance and
reshape the workforce where needed.
Resulting from our workforce review, some competency areas are
well staffed, while other areas are deficient. We need to
acquire different skills in some new areas related to the Vision
for Space Exploration. We want to deal with these challenges in
a deliberate, thoughtful way by using the tools we have available
through existing law as well as the new NASA Workforce
Flexibilities Act. Additionally, we want to minimize any impact
on the NASA Family. Voluntary early retirement and buyout
incentives provide a positive means of addressing the challenge
we have to reshape our workforce.
On Friday, NASA employees at our Ames, Dryden, Glenn, Langley and
Marshall Centers heard from their Center Directors about plans to
offer early retirement and buyout incentives to eligible
employees at those locations. At this time, NASA’s Goddard,
Johnson, Kennedy and Stennis Centers, NASA Headquarters and the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory have not identified significant skills
imbalances, and therefore are not offering incentives.
Employees who are eligible for the early retirement and buyout
offer will receive additional information from their Center in
the next few days about how they can apply for these incentives.
If you have any questions about this process, please contact your
Center’s Human Resources Office.
Frederick D. Gregory
Deputy Administrator
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
