The firings at one of the most important US #space #licensing agencies hit at a dire time for a booming US space industry that has long pushed for more nimble & simplified #satellite #regulatory processes…

But sources & individuals across the space industry & US govt…said these #layoffs are likely to trigger major delays in getting #spacecraft approved for #launch.
The #FAA, which signs off on rocket payloads, cannot approve a satellite launch requiring a #NOAA license if it hasn’t obtained it.

"These are like air traffic controllers for #space, they handle space traffic coordination to prevent collisions," one of the sources said, adding the #layoffs come at a bad time given the number of collision notices sent out. A collision notice is an alert that a satellite could collide w/another object in space.

"We are not talking a few dozen per year. We are talking tens of thousands," the source said. "It's like a game of chicken up there."

#ElonMusk's government *efficiency* effort has led to thousands of #layoffs in the federal government, disrupting government operations across the country. #Musk, who leads #space company #SpaceX, has long criticized space #regulations for being too *slow & outdated* [requiring him to abide w/safety standards & laws].

“#Mozilla is made up of several organizations, one of which is the #MozillaCorporation, which develops Firefox and other technologies, and another is its nonprofit and tax-exempt #MozillaFoundation, which oversees Mozilla’s corporate governance structure and sets the browser maker’s policies. Much of Mozilla’s work focused on advocating for #privacy, #inclusion, and #decentralization of #technologies, and “to create #safer, more #transparent online experiences for #everyone,” which ultimately benefit the #browser maker and its #users.

Announcing the layoffs in an email to all employees on October 30, the Mozilla Foundation’s executive director #NabihaSyed confirmed that two of the foundation’s major divisions — #Advocacy and #GlobalPrograms — are “no longer a part of our structure.””

There you go. One side of Mozilla builds the tools of the Internet, the other does… I can’t for the life of me see what. It’s the #MozillaFoundation who cant engineer the tools that are doing “deals” with others to make things safer.

The power to make change for the better of the Internet is being moved from direct impact, ie: basic technology and applied applications TO soft corporate influence through manifestos, papers, jobs and pay for influencers and collaborations with third parties…

I know what is more effective. Basic engineering and applied products because it scales.

#WhiteCollar / #Layoffs / #CorporatePolicy <https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/05/mozilla-foundation-lays-off-30-staff-drops-advocacy-division/>

The missive simultaneously hit inboxes across multiple #FederalAgencies, rattling workers who had been rocked by #layoffs in recent weeks & were unsure about whether to respond to #Musk’s demand. Ofcls at some agencies, including the #FBI, told their employees to pause any responses to the email for now.

Musk’s mounting pressure on the federal work force came at the encouragement of #Trump, who has been trumpeting how the billionaire has upended the bureaucracy…

#DOGE’s “Phase 3” starts later this month, on the 31st day of the #Trump admin, & lasts until the 180th day, which is in mid-July, acc/to the documents. That stage moves from placing workers on paid leave to calling for large-scale #firings, the documents show. Ultimately, DOGE intends for the Trump admin to #terminate all DEI-linked employees via a Reduction In Force (#RIF) action—the federal form of #layoffs — including some who work for legally mandated offices.

To be honest, when I look at the margins that headhunters and recruiters take without genuinely contributing value (I’ve seen companies where developers were hired through three layers of organizations, each wanting a cut), it’s no surprise that IT is so expensive in Germany.
#layoffs #economy #germany