Space shuttle operator United Space Alliance (USA) will cut 15 percent of its 8,100-strong work force effective Oct. 1 in the latest round of layoffs related to the or-biter fleet's impending retirement and plans to cancel a follow-on program that aimed at returning astronauts to the Moon.rnUSA spokeswoman Tracy Yates said those layoffs will be in addition to 743 employees who have already been let go in the last nine months.rnThe July 6 announcement came as congressional Republicans stepped up attacks on the White House plan to terminate the Moon-bound Constellation program, taking direct aim at the jobs issue. "This Administration has made the decision to eliminate the Constellation program, resulting in the potential loss of tens of thousands of good, highly skilled and well paid jobs," U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, ranking member of the House Science and Technology Committee, said in a statement posted on the panel's Republican caucus website. "The layoffs are just beginning."
展开▼
