Summary
The number of federal employees has decreased by 271,000 since the start of 2025, mainly due to initiatives by President Trump to reduce government size. This effort included a program allowing voluntary resignations, though some employees felt pressured to leave. The government is now looking to rehire some workers for critical roles.
Key Facts
- There are 271,000 fewer federal employees since early 2025, a 9% drop.
- President Trump's administration aimed to reduce the federal workforce size.
- A program called "deferred resignation" let employees leave while still getting paychecks temporarily.
- Most employees left voluntarily, though only 25,000 were officially terminated.
- The Trump administration later attempted to rehire some employees for essential tasks like managing nuclear weapons and taxes.
- Scott Kupor, head of the Office of Personnel Management, discussed workforce changes on a podcast.
- An OPM spokesperson stated the resignation program was completely voluntary.
- Some employees resigned due to policy disagreements or fear of job loss.
