THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 17, 1995 TAG: 9503170561
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A NASA-wide employee buyout may end up costing Langley Research Center its leader: Director Paul F. Holloway said Thursday that he is considering quitting the job he's held for a little more than three years.
Holloway said he would meet with employees in Langley's main cafeteria at 9 this morning to discuss his plans and answer questions on agency restructuring. The meeting will be transmitted throughout the center over closed-circuit television.
With two weeks remaining in the employee buyout, Langley Research Center appears to have slightly exceeded its goal of a 250-person reduction in staff.
As of Thursday afternoon, 266 Langley employees had completed all or part of required buyout paperwork, perhaps forestalling immediate job cuts at the oldest of NASA's dozen national facilities.
In early February, the 56-year-old Holloway ruled out any thought of taking early retirement, even as NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin warned employees to expect ``a revolution at NASA. . . . Everything is on the table.'' Goldin said that could include massive reductions in programs and staff, and the closing of all or part of facilities such as the NASA research centers.
On Thursday, Holloway said he may not be around to see it happen.
``Anybody with 35 years has to give the buyout serious consideration,'' Holloway said. ``I had no plans to retire - but I am looking at it. I've got 10 working days left to decide. It's a tough decision.''
Holloway, who grew up in Poquoson in a family of watermen, came to Langley in 1960 with a degree in aeronautical engineering from Virginia Tech. He worked his way up the ranks to the director's post, earning praise from Goldin for management of Langley's aeronautics program.
Holloway's thoughts of retirement come during a time of great upheaval for NASA, matched only during the years of the space race in the 1960s. Then, NASA struggled to manage fantastic growth in programs and personnel.
Now, the opposite is occurring as the Clinton administration and Congress weigh measures to pare down government.
While it is unlikely that Langley will be closed or its aeronautics programs canceled, major staff cuts are possible. Holloway said that he and Langley's senior managers are prepared for a minimum 16 percent reduction in staff, equal to what is expected throughout the federal government.
They have also developed contingency plans for a 40 percent reduction over the next five years, which could involve roughly 2,000 civil servants and independent contractors. Holloway insists that such a dramatic downsizing isn't likely.
About 5,200 currently work at or support research in Langley laboratories and its complex of 40-plus wind tunnels. The center's budget is roughly $700 million.
``What we're doing is what we have to do,'' Holloway said. ``The NASA of the past is going to have to change drastically in order to survive into the next century.''
Recent reports of a fistfight between two high-ranking NASA officials have reinforced feelings of tension and pessimism throughout the agency. The pair reportedly came to blows during a workout at a fitness area of the headquarters building in Washington.
Brian Welch, a NASA headquarters spokesman, confirmed the incident and said it is being investigated. Welch said that the results will be made public when the investigation is completed, which could take weeks or months.
``I'm not surprised something happened,'' Holloway said. ``These are very stressful times. Tempers are short in uncertain times.'' by CNB