The director of the Calar Alto observatory in Almería, José María Quintana, has resigned due to the budget cuts at the centre. He only took up the post in June 2013.
José María Quintana said that he could not manage the facility, the largest in continental Europe, with the reduced budget for 2014 of just two million euros. Workers at the centre fear that redundancies are on the horizon.
It is also feared that one of the telescopes, a 3.3 metre example, will cease functioning in March due to staff shortages.
The budget cuts were applied by the CSIC and the German Max Plank Foundation, joint controllers of the facility.