NASA headquarters, four other centers turn to buyouts

Several NASA locations are offering buyouts and early retirement packages to employees.

According to NASA public affairs specialist Grey Hautaluoma, the agency's headquarters in Washington on Nov. 7 offered buyout packages worth up to $25,000 per employee. While 147 employees are eligible for the offer, only 50 packages will be available. Employees must apply by Nov. 18.

Four other NASA centers have extended separate buyout offers. The Kennedy Space Center in Florida offered 150 buyouts through Nov. 7, targeting the budget and legal offices, information technology and general administrative personnel. To date, almost all the applications have been processed.

The Kennedy Space Center asked for a round of buyouts as part of its strategy to shift into "a post-space shuttle world," said spokesman Allard Beutel. NASA retired its space shuttle, program, which had operated out of the Kennedy Space Center, on July 21.

Beutel also confirmed that the Kennedy Space Center's packages would be worth up to $25,000.

The Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., offered 50 packages and had 15 approved. Ames' offers closed in September.

The Johnson Space Center in Houston offered 150 employee buyouts through Sept. 30. Of those, 101 packages were approved, but two employees withdrew their applications, leaving a total of 99.

In Huntsville, Ala., the Marshall Space Center offered buyouts through Sept. 28. All 120 packages were accepted.