Posted: Sat, Apr 16, 2011, 10:21 AM ET (1421 GMT)
United Space Alliance (USA), the joint venture that handles space shuttle operations, announced Friday that it will lay off about half of its current workforce this summer after the end of the final shuttle mission. USA said that it will lay off about 2,600 to 2,800 of its 5,600 employees in late July or early August, shortly after the scheduled completion of the final shuttle mission this summer. Those layoffs include 1,850-1,950 in Florida, 750-800 in Texas, and 30-40 in Alabama. The workforce reduction had been expected as the shuttle program winds down. Florida officials said this is the largest space-related layoff since the end of the Apollo program in the 1970s.

Related Links:

•  Florida Today article
•  Orlando Sentinel article
•  Houston Chronicle article
•  Galveston Daily News article
•  USA press release