Trump to lay off 300,000 federal employees this year
What's the story
The Trump administration is planning to cut some 300,000 federal jobs this year, according to Scott Kupor, the new head of human resources. The reduction would account for a major 12.5% of the total government workforce since January. Kupor, who is also the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), said that most job cuts would come from voluntary departures.
Reduction details
80% of planned workforce reductions would come from voluntary departures
Kupor revealed that around 80% of the planned workforce reductions would come from voluntary departures. The remaining 20%, he said, would be due to firings. This is nearly twice as much as the 154,000 employees who took buyouts last month. Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has been on a mission to downsize the federal civilian workforce of 2.4 million members, claiming it is too big and inefficient.
Implementation hurdles
Kupor's challenge in implementing workforce reductions
Kupor admitted that he can't force people to lay off employees. He will have to convince cabinet secretaries to agree with his vision of government efficiency. This is a stark contrast from the early days of Trump's second term when OPM leadership had explicitly ordered agencies to fire new employees, as per a court filing.
Attrition rate
Projected attrition rate and agency specifics
If Kupor's prediction holds true, the federal workforce attrition rate would be more than double the 5.9% in fiscal year 2023. This is the latest voluntary departure measure by the non-profit Partnership for Public Service. Kupor didn't share specific numbers for each federal agency but said that these details would be released later by OPM.
Future plans
Proposals for further workforce cuts in progress
Kupor also revealed that government agencies are working on proposals for more workforce cuts. These will be sent to White House Budget Director Russ Vought and will form part of the president's upcoming budget request to Congress. He said he met with officials from the budget office on Wednesday to discuss this process, indicating ongoing efforts toward potential future job cuts.