After recent news of significant layoffs at NASA’s Michoud Facility in New Orleans East, GNO Inc. Vice President of Business Growth and Retention Josh Tatum says there’s reason for renewed optimism.
According to Tatum, the new contractor stepping in plans to rehire roughly 90% of the laid-off workforce across a variety of roles and skill sets.
“This is a transition, not a shutdown. The current contractor informed the state of its contract ending as per federal guidelines and will continue to provide a workforce for the Michoud facility as well as Stennis Space Center."
The Michoud facility plays a vital role in building components for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the moon and eventually push toward Mars.
Tatum says a recently passed federal spending package, the “big, beautiful bill”, allocates billions of dollars for continued space exploration, supporting major contractors like Boeing and tenants like Lockheed Martin.
“The Gulf South is still mission-critical,” Tatum emphasized. “NASA’s current acting administrator is committed to making sure we stay at the forefront of deep space innovation.”
Tatum says the region’s role in colonization efforts beyond Earth remains a priority of NASA’s future and Michoud will continue to be a launchpad for aerospace technology, workforce development, and global ambition.