The Boeing Co. has announced a new round of layoffs in Huntsville, in part blaming changes to its contract with NASA’s moon rocket program. Boeing plans to lay off 71 employees, the company said in a notice to the Alabama Department of Commerce this week.

Published reports indicate there may have been a reprieve at NASA. Probationary workers, including those at Alabama’s Marshall Space Center, were bracing for job cuts. The websites ARS Technica and NASA watch say mass firings have not yet occurred and there’s no clear reason for the delay.

NASA confirmed it may have sidestepped sweeping layoffs that were expected, potentially saving hundreds of newly hired employees and career professionals.

After the space community braced for a brutal shake-up at NASA this week, a last-minute decision on Tuesday (Feb. 18) spared over 1,000 agency employees on probationary status from being dismissed.