(Adds details paragraph 4 onwards) Oct 13 (Reuters) – NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said on Monday it will cut nearly 550 jobs as part of a restructuring, not related to the current U.S. government shutdown. JPL is NASA's only federally funded research and development center. It designed, built and operated all five of the successful rovers sent so far to the surface of Mars. The layoffs will affect employees across JPL's technical, business and support areas as part of a reorganization that began in July, it said in a statement on its website. The layoffs are "essential to securing JPL's future by creating a leaner infrastructure, focusing on our core technical capabilities, maintaining fiscal discipline," said Director Dave Gallagher. Employees will be notified of their status on Tuesday. JPL has about 5,500 employees and on-site subcontractors at a 168-acre facility in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, California, according to its website. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
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