The ladies of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" better thank their lucky stars isn't a Bravo producer ... cause a bunch of them would be out of a job if she was.

We got the former 'RHOA' star at LAX Wednesday, and she didn't take it easy on the show that made her famous ... saying quite easily that the dip in ratings means showrunners need to blow the damn thing up!!!

NL says it's a bad look for the show to keep running out the same cast over and over, and she thinks some fresh blood might be good for the 15-year-old program.

Now, she's not talking about a total reset (a la "The Real Housewives of New York" after season 13) ... but Leakes says she thinks "at least half" the girls have to get the boot.

She's not talking about anyone in particular though -- since NeNe doesn't even watch the show anymore! Instead, Leakes says she sees the clips via social media ... adding it's simply "not the same" as it was back in the day.

NeNe adds she could definitely help with the show's ratings ... but she doesn't seem super interested in coming back -- saying she has no message for

or the 'Housewives' team ... remember, she's got a pretty fraught relationship with the show after (and ) of racism in 2022.

A reunion isn't the craziest idea in the world though -- NeNe's clearly gotten over her issues with KZ, talking her up a ton during the same convo with our photog ... maybe she's ready to mend a couple more fences?

Leakes' final advice to producers ... keep the fans in mind while making the show -- the biggest priority should be to please the audience.

You know, firing half the cast would give producers a ton of opportunities to bring back NeNe AND Kim ... just sayin'.