Moscow: Russia needs a leaner space industry, and that means significant job cuts, according to Vladimir Popovkin, head of Russia's Space Agency Roscosmos.
"Unless we act now - we will cease to be competitive," he warned.
Speaking about the need for reform, Popovkin said that "reorganising Roscosmos into a holding company will ensure maximum staffing" across the sector.
"If today over 250 people are employed then we calculate that the maximum should be 150-170," he said during a lecture for science and technology students.
In recent years Russia's space programm has suffered a series of failures, from lost satellites and abortive launches to Fobos-Grunt's failure to leave low earth orbit.
IANS
First Published: Friday, September 28, 2012, 09:57