Boeing to Lay Off Hundreds of Employees Amid Space Launch System Uncertainty

First reported by Bloomberg and confirmed to FLYING by Boeing, the company could eliminate hundreds of positions on its SLS team.

“To align with revisions to the Artemis program and cost expectations, we informed our Space Launch Systems team of the potential for approximately 400 fewer positions by April 2025,” a Boeing spokesperson told FLYING. “We are working with [NASA] and seeking opportunities to redeploy employees across our company to minimize job losses and retain our talented teammates.”

The spokesperson said Boeing in the coming weeks will issue involuntary layoff notices to impacted employees at least 60 days before their positions are eliminated. The firm did not say which specific roles will be cut.

Boeing is the prime NASA contractor for the SLS core and upper stages, as well as its avionics suite. The rocket is assigned to launch NASA’s Orion capsule with astronauts to the moon as early as mid-2027 on NASA’s Artemis III mission—the first crewed lunar landing attempt since the Apollo era—and its precursor, Artemis II. It previously flew on the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022.

However, as President Donald Trump’s presidential transition continues, there has been speculation the SLS could be scrapped in favor of a commercially built alternative, like SpaceX’s Starship. Shift4 CEO and SpaceX ally Jared Isaacman, Trump’s pick to lead NASA, has called the massive rocket “outrageously expensive.”

Trump and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, meanwhile, have tasked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—created in January via executive order—with cutting costs and improving efficiency across government. Per a NASA inspector general investigation, Boeing’s work on the SLS Block 1B has contributed to $700 million in cost overruns on the program.

NASA, though, described the rocket as “essential” to Artemis in a statement shared with FLYING Tuesday. The space agency did not address an inquiry about whether “revisions” have yet been made to the campaign.

“NASA and its industry partners continuously work together to evaluate and align budget, resources, contractor performance, and schedules to execute mission requirements efficiently, safely, and successfully in support of NASA’s Moon to Mars goals and objectives,” the space agency said.

Musk, however, is advocating that NASA reshape the Artemis program entirely. Musk in January said the moon is a “distraction” and vowed American astronauts would go “straight to Mars.” Trump—who created the Artemis program during his first term—in his inauguration speech noted plans to plant the American flag on Mars but made no mention of going to the moon.

Any modification to the Artemis program would deal another blow to Boeing Space, which has been a persistent thorn in the side of newly minted CEO Kelly Ortberg.

The Starliner saga—a planned eight-day test mission to the International Space Station (ISS) that has stretched more than eight months for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams—has also drawn heavy public scrutiny. Boeing last week revealed the Starliner program has topped $2 billion in losses for the firm.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Boeing may look to sell its entire space business, including Starliner and its SLS contracts.

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