Around 260,000 Federal Employees Have Been Laid-Off In U.S., What Lessons Do Mass Layoffs Have?

In recent months, the US government has launched a massive layoff of federal employees under Trump’s orders, with employees in many centers given just 15 minutes to pack their belongings. Now, thousands of American employees and workers have either experienced layoffs or are in fear of being laid off. What are the lessons of this story for the world?

Mass layoffs in the United States after Trump took office in the past few months have started without serious problems, but it seems that they will also lead to widespread social protests among the workforce in this country.

The massive layoffs are part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping downsizing drive, which targets bank employees, forestry workers, tens of thousands of government employees and even scientists in some fields, according to Reuters , and are being spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, who is the biggest backer of Trump’s election campaign.

International media reports indicate that various US government agencies are at risk of laying off their employees, some of the most important of which have been listed.

Pentagon: The U.S. Department of Defense announced plans to lay off between 50,000 and 60,000 civilian employees, a day after an appeals court upheld a ruling that ordered the Trump administration to reverse tens of thousands of layoffs at several government agencies. The figure represents about 5 to 8 percent of the department’s civilian workforce.

Department of Education: The agency announced on March 11 that it would begin the process of laying off half of its white-collar workers, about 2,000 employees. The Trump administration has said the system is a symbol of bureaucratic bloat.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: The agency is preparing to lay off more than 1,000 employees in a second round of layoffs that is expected to affect about 10 percent of its workforce.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA): The agency has laid off 30,000 employees some newly hired and temporary employees as part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to shrink the federal government and control the agency leaving no space for the new director John Ratcliffe. The Wall Street Journal reported that the CIA is the first intelligence agency to tell its employees they can leave their jobs and receive about eight months of pay and benefits. While the exact number of CIA employees and the agency’s budget are classified, new CIA Director Ratcliffe told employees at the agency, “I’m telling agents around the world to buckle down and get ready to do something, or it’s time to find a new job.”

Department of Veterans Affairs: More than 80,000 workers are set to be laid off in the department. The department said about 2,400 probationary employees were laid off in two waves in mid-February, although a judge ordered their reinstatement in a March 13 ruling.

Internal Revenue Service: Thousands of employees were reportedly given 15 minutes to clear their offices on February 27 and 28 as the Trump administration announced it would lay off approximately 6,700 Internal Revenue Service employees, about 8 percent of the department’s workforce. Tens of thousands of federal employees at other agencies are also losing their jobs.

Social Security Administration: According to multiple reports, the department plans to cut about 7,000 employees, or 12 percent of its staff, while an anonymous source told The Associated Press that the staff cuts could be as much as 50 percent of its workforce, although the news agency called the report “false” and “rumored.”

Ministry of Labor: The office staff at this ministry is set to be reduced by 90%, although it is not clear how many employees this will affect.

Environmental Protection: Trump told reporters at his first cabinet meeting that the director of this department has expressed a desire to reduce 65% of its 18,000 employees. The reason for this is that the Trump administration is seeking to roll back Biden-era environmental protection laws.

Where Federal Workers Are Being Laid Off

Reportedly the biggest layoff of probationary federal workers so far under new Trump administration orders started Thursday at the Internal Revenue Service, where 6,700 employees are expected to be terminated. The Trump administration directed the IRS, like other federal agencies, to let go of workers who have not yet acquired civil service protections due to shorter tenures, typically below one or two years of employment. This includes new employees, temporary and seasonal employees, but also in some cases those who have switched jobs, according to reports.

Specialized news site Government Executive writes that those directly involved in critical roles during tax filing season – which is currently underway – are not included in the order. The number of announced layoffs tallied by Statista now tops 16,000. This is in addition to the reported number of 75,000 federal employees who took buyouts offered by the Trump administration. Still, both numbers combined make up less than 4 percent of the 2.4 million-strong non-military and non-postal federal workforce.

While probationary employees have fewer protections, there could still be challenges as poor performance was repeatedly cited as a standardized reason for termination – which is expected to lead to appeals, once more highlighting the legal issues the Trump administration has repeatedly run into. This is also true for the planned dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, fired Inspectors General and potentially the Department of Education.

Starting mid-February, announcements concerning the layoffs of probationary employees commenced at other departments and agencies of the U.S. government. According to reports from outlets catering to federal employees and the healthcare sector, 5,200 were slated to receive termination notices at the Department of Health and Human Services. Widely reported was the layoff of 1,300 at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, equal to 10 percent of its workforce. Cuts were also being carried out at the National Institutes of Health, including many nurses, as well as the Food and Drug Administration and Medicare, according to the reports. Some FDA cuts have since been rescinded as workers were deemed important for ongoing product reviews. The same happened for some employees of the Indian Health Service, the National Nuclear Security Administration (Department of Energy) and workers in the federal bird flu response (Department of Agriculture).

At the U.S. Forest Service alone, 3,400 employees or 10 percent or workers were on termination lists, while the number at the Department of Agriculture, which overseas it, was unclear. Another 1,000 people were reported to be receiving letters of termination at the National Park Service at the Department of the Interior, which laid off a total of 2,300. While around 80 percent of the federal workforce is not located in Washington D.C., this is even more true of the Forest Service and the National Park Service, whose employees are scattered around the country. The announcement caused outrage, for example, in Oregon or Montana, impacting small towns and remote areas at times. While no fire-fighting employees were let go, the move would still increase the danger of wildfires, according to Forest Service employees, as those studying and mitigating them are affected.

More concerns were raised about terminations at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration (Department of Transportation).

Source: Reuters, AP, Forbes