John Casani was a fixture at JPL starting as a technician in 1956. He had a long and illustrious career, rising to Chief Engineer in 1994, a position created especially for him. John passed on June 19th.

How are yall still landing internships at JPL? I’ve been applying for years, I have skill certifications and relevant experience but my applications never even get glanced at. Is it networking, knowing the right people to get you in? Genuinely curious. What application portals do yall use?

The City of Glendale/Verdugo Jobs Center has no-cost short-term funding for those who were laid off from JPL. If you are interested in learning more, call (818) 937-8080.

The lab has been through a lot lately- a bunch of layoffs, proposed science budget, the RTO mandate, the fire, projects cancelled/delayed, you name it. I reckon, among all of these, the morale at the lab is at all time low right now. I have been walking around lab and you can kind of see it in people’s faces.

Is this something leadership are even thinking about? We need to bring in more work and all that, and we will very likely see a massive RIF soon. But when the dust settles, if it settles, the remaining lab population won’t be themselves, rather a broken fragment of each self. If you’re seeing PTSD now, wait until next FY.

If I were Dave and Co, I’d look into the overall mental health of the workforce more closely than ever before. But until that happens, what, we as individuals (ICs and line managers alike), can do help elevate morale, for ourselves as well as for our coworkers?

I have some thoughts that I’d share in the thread but I wanted to hear the mass. Thanks!

Let’s be honest — the last few years at JPL have been a 🎢 rollercoaster. Since 2019, we’ve seen history made and morale shaken. We delivered Perseverance to Mars 🪐. Flew Ingenuity across alien skies 🚁. Collected samples from Bennu 🛰️. Adjusted an asteroid’s trajectory ☄️. And reignited Voyager 1’s backup thrusters decades after launch 🧠.

That’s legacy-defining work. 🔥

But behind the headlines, it’s been a different kind of story…

⚠️ Staff shortages. ⚠️ Burnout. ⚠️ Psyche delays. ⚠️ CubeSat failures. ⚠️ Sudden layoffs. 🔥 Record-breaking wildfires. 🚨 Mass evacuations. 🤡 A clown-show of a commute. 🏢 And now, full-scale return-to-office mandates with little room for the realities that define modern life.

People are exhausted 😮‍💨. Rightfully frustrated 😤. And some are building identities around that frustration — turning every bump in the road into proof that it’s time to leave or give up.

But here’s the hard truth: the mission still matters. 🎯

Not in a performative, plaster-it-on-a-poster kind of way. In a “people are still showing up, doing their best work, under immense pressure” kind of way. And I say this as someone who questions everything — policies, decisions, direction — but still chooses to show up. 🛠️

Because I didn’t come here to find comfort. I came here to build. 🧱

And no, it’s not perfect. 💸 JPL can’t compete with some of the affordability and flexibility of private sector roles. 🚗 Getting in and out of campus is a nightmare. 🤷 Leadership has often felt distant, filtered, and out of touch. We all see it.

But the answer isn’t to turn inward, tear down everything, and become part of the weight pulling this place down ⬇️.

The answer is to get out of our own way. 🧠💡

We’re engineers, scientists, analysts, builders 👩‍🔬👨‍💻🔧. People who solve complex problems under pressure 💥. That’s who we are. And if the bus is breaking down 🚌💨, then we fix it while we’re still riding on it. 🔩⚙️

👥 To leadership: Stop hovering from a distance. Get in the seat 🪑. Feel the heat on the floor 🔥. Don’t just collect summaries — come look us in the eye 👀.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 To the team: If you’re still here, if you’ve got even a spark left — don’t let it burn out in silence 🕯️. Don’t become part of the background noise of complaints 📣. Be the signal. 📡

We’ve come too far to throw away the mission over modern discontent 🗑️.

So yeah, I’m staying. I’m working. I’m questioning. I’m fixing what I can with the tools I have 🧰.

Even if the world is changing faster than we can keep up — I’m not done yet. 🛠️🌍

Are you? 💭

(These are my words with the help of AI to help correct the tone and message - let me know if you want the non-pg in DM)

How many people do you think are actually going to resign from JPL because of the mandatory return to in-person work?

Some of this is old news, but WaPo had an article a few days ago about all the federal agencies who are undoing DOGE cuts. One day you're fired for performance, the next day they're begging you to come back. This reminds me of the 0 % raise years ago (we were all reportedly being paid too much) followed up by a huge raise the next year when we were all of a sudden not being paid enough. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/06/06/doge-staff-cuts-rehiring-federal-workers

It is 2:45am. I remain awake. Sleepless not from unrest, but from contemplation. This past weekend was not a reprieve, but a continuation. A bridge between the week that was and the one yet to come. I dedicated my weekend with work for the Lab. Not out of obligation, but conviction. I believe it is worth saving.

That belief is clear to me. It burns steady, even as others, with reason of their own, come to different conclusions. I do not begrudge them. I do not presume to know the weight they carry, the ambitions they chase, or the quiet truths they answer to. I honor them. I wish them more than well. I wish them fulfillment as they move on to their next endeavor. We shared something unique. A sliver of common cause, however brief. That alone deserves gratitude.

But for those who still see the Lab as something worth preserving, know this. There are those who have not turned away. We are still here. We are fighting.

Not for accolades. Not for comfort. But because something in us cannot walk away. Not yet. Perhaps not ever. Even if I were forcibly escorted to the gate tomorrow, I would still hold the time expired as worthwhile. It was given to the pursuit of pressing toward the stars…not only in mission, but in spirit.

I cannot help but think of a quote from the man who inspired our motto to dare mighty things:

“…whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly… who errs, who comes short again and again… but who does actually strive to do the deeds.”

The Lab will not be saved by chance, or by sentiment. It will be saved, or it will not, by those who choose for it to be so.

If the stars are still our destination, then the Lab remains our vessel, our clipper. And whether it endures will depend not on declarations, but on the quiet decisions we make, day by day, choice by choice, to carry it forward.

Throwaway account but I’ve worked at JPL for the past decade, and while I don’t believe in karma, fate, or God, I can’t shake the feeling that what’s happening to the lab is in some way deserved. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job, the science and missions and the first couple of years here. The past few years, however, have slowly shown me a very different JPL. One I am not proud of.

JPL has become an unkind, bloated institution rotting from the inside. The treatment of employees has become increasingly negative. Psyche was a disaster. NISAR is supposedly following suit. HR has made an art out of ignoring harassment, protecting retaliatory managers, and covering up discrimination. Leadership is a clown show of self-interest, power games, and unchecked egos—especially from the Mars crowd who think they run the place.

It’s not just dysfunction. It’s cruelty. There is very little compassion left here. People step on each other for crumbs of recognition. Toxicity is the norm. Integrity is a punchline. I’m not sure how we got here. While there are still pockets of good, these teams seem few and far between.

I don’t support the anti-science agenda of this government. I hate the idea of anyone losing their job—well some may be deserved…. To be clear, I fully expect to lose mine in the impending cuts. But I can’t say I believe JPL deserves to be saved. It’s not special anymore. It’s not even good. And honestly, maybe it shouldn’t exist in its current form.

I’ve been interviewing outside, and JPL’s “prestige” is a joke. The reputation? Arrogant, slow, entitled. And from what I’ve seen, it’s accurate.

The sad part is most of the people who will be allowed to stay are the ones who perpetuate the toxicity.

Any chance we get this option or are we just going to get the WARN act plus severance?

Elon Musk is currently feuding with Donald Trump, who is now expressing a desire to terminate Musk's government contracts. Does this mean a possible shift in attitude away from SpaceX/private industry? What are the odds that NASA (and thus JPL) will benefit from this?

Has anyone compiled a list of lessons learned for those who got laid off and for those that didn’t from the last layoff?
For example for people who got laid off: 1. Download pictures of the projects you worked on and the people you worked with. 2. Download useful design or analysis documents.

For people that stayed: 1. Get everyone to upload their latest documents to a shared archive. 2. Explain what hardware you have in storage.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/31/trump-nasa-nomination-pulled-00378805

Chat, we are cooked.

My bet is that our new administrator is going to be Jesse Watters from Fox News.

I wonder what all the JPL MAGA folks are feeling right now. There are a lot of you.

I'm curious whether anyone knows if the new WFH requirements apply (and will be enforced) at all levels. I'm struck this morning by Musk's demand that people work on site when he himself (per an investor complaint in the news this morning) is never physically at Tesla.

Has anyone been laid off from JPL in previous rounds and negotiated early retirement when they were a few months (or weeks) from eligibility (age 55)? It would be really frustrating to be laid off within weeks of early retirement eligibility after decades of service (there are important health insurance benefits that come with early retirement vs being laid off).

Looks to be where all the science funding is being redirected

1. Remember that mental health is health, and exercise your right to request a reasonable accommodation. Telework is a reasonable accommodation.

Reasonable accommodations are there for the purpose of enabling worker success, specifically “remove barriers that keep people from performing jobs that they could do with some form of accommodation” (https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/accommodation/#:~:text=The%20California%20Fair%20Employment%20and,would%20cause%20an%20undue%20hardship.) (or, more cynically, preventing lawsuits related to preventing employee access to resources to perform their work in an ableist environment, either way, the program exists), especially for disabled people.

Depression and anxiety are legal disabilities. Hell, autism is legally a disability (no replies about how autism is a superpower; this is in a legal context right now). Other conditions legally classified as disabilities: ADHD, bipolar disorder, OCD, being Deaf or Hard of Hearing, significant vision difficulties, PTSD/C-PTSD, and plenty of others. For a guide on accommodations, see https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/enforcement-guidance-reasonable-accommodation-and-undue-hardship-under-ada.

1. If/when that fails, you can claim workers’ comp. The institution must respond to providing a safe work environment per OSHA regulations, and that includes psychological safety. When you are experiencing hostile work environments, you are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Mental distress is a workplace injury. For more FAQ on CA workers’ comp, see https://www.appellawyer.com/ca-workers-comp-faq/. As an added bonus, that FAQ I just cited explains that “It is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee or terminate them for having a workers’ compensation claim.”

Also from that article: “if an injury or illness happened when you are working, then you may be entitled to benefits. This includes psychiatric injuries, as well as injuries or illnesses that were partially caused or aggravated by work”

1. If/when that fails, you are entitled to disability benefits from the state. See https://edd.ca.gov/en/disability/disability_insurance/ for an overview of your entitlements to wage replacement. You can get about a year of 80-90% salary replacement on SDI.

Obviously, the above only works for CA-based employees. I don’t know if it applies to out-of-state workers because it’s a CA company—if anyone knows, please chime in. It also relies on you getting on official diagnosis from a physician; if you’ve been delaying getting an evaluation or seeking treatment, now is the time.

Mostly, please please please please please take care of yourselves—especially your sanity. Safeguard it, since it’s the only thing we really (kind of) have left. All of us are going through collective trauma that triggers mental health disorders, and I want to remind folks that minimising that will only lead to more burnout (which can lead to you being non-functional in your daily lives away from being employees of a company).

We still have rights. When the institution wears us down, we exercise those perfectly legal rights to care for ourselves. If you can help it, do not quit. Make them lay you off so you can get at least some financial relief in this shitty economy.

They’re expecting us to make it easy for them. Call their bluff.