Houston-based United Space Alliance, the NASA contractor responsible for maintaining the space shuttles, confirmed on Friday that it would slash nearly 50 per cent of its workforce as the space shuttle program would shut down this year.

The NASA contractor has a workforce of around 5,600 people but the figure will come down to nearly 2,800 after the implementation of cuts.

The contractor has plans to implement the cuts in late July and early August following the completion of the NASA’s final flights of Endeavour and Atlantis, which are scheduled for April 29 and June 28, respectively.

Announcing the layoff plan, United Space Alliance’s president & CEO Virginia Barnes said, "It will be difficult to say goodbye to such tremendously talented and dedicated teammates, and we are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for them."

The majority of United Space Alliance’s employees work in or near NASA's Cape Canaveral-based Kennedy Space Center, but the company also has divisions in Alabama and Texas. The job-cuts will affect all sites.