Nearly 300 workers were laid off at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans after Syncom Space Services lost its long-standing operations and maintenance contract with NASA. The contract, valued at $822.7 million, was awarded to NOVA Space Solutions. The layoffs were disclosed in a WARN notice but did not specify how many were based at Michoud versus Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Affected roles included engineers, electricians, and technicians.
This follows Boeing’s earlier announcement to lay off 89 workers at Michoud, raising concerns about the future of NASA’s Artemis program and the local space industry. Although recent federal funding provides short-term support for Artemis II and III, the administration plans to eventually phase out the Space Launch System in favor of commercial alternatives, threatening long-term stability for the facility.