Unprecedented departures from Trump's federal staff predicted by the chief personnel officer by year-end
In the midst of Donald Trump's second term, plans are underway to significantly reduce the federal workforce by approximately 300,000 employees by the end of 2025. This represents a 12.5 percent reduction of the current 2.4-million strong federal civilian workforce [1][3].
The Department of Government Efficiency is spearheading this initiative, coordinating multiple strategies to achieve this goal. The key elements of the plan include voluntary separation programs, layoffs of probationary employees, Reductions in Force (RIFs), agency closures and restructurings, and policy changes to ease cuts [1][3].
Around 75 to 80 percent of the reductions are expected to come from workers opting for either the Deferred Resignation program or buyouts called Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments. As of mid-2025, approximately 154,000 federal employees have already accepted these offers [3].
The administration is also terminating tens of thousands of probationary employees, those hired or promoted within about the past year. These terminations account for some reductions but are a minority compared to voluntary departures [1][3].
RIFs, or layoffs, have been ordered for agencies, leading to layoff announcements across various agencies, including major cuts at the Department of Veterans Affairs [1][2].
Several federal agencies have been unilaterally closed or significantly downsized, notably the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the United States Agency for International Development [1][5].
A January 2025 executive order removed due process employment protections for civil servants, facilitating layoffs. The establishment of a new Schedule G employee classification enables more flexible political appointments without Senate confirmation, aiming to increase agency capacity under the administration’s policy agenda [1][4].
The email sent out to federal workers offers them the option of a 'deferred resignation', exempting them from the requirement to return to the office until September 2025. Upon accepting the deferred resignation, employees will retain all pay and benefits regardless of their daily workload. Their duties will be reassigned or eliminated, and they will be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period [6].
The Trump administration started sending emails to thousands of federal workers in January, offering them a chance to voluntarily vacate their government posts. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memo describes the option as 'deferred resignation', which exempts employees from the requirement to return to the office [7].
The proposed workforce reduction represents a potential savings of up to $100 billion, according to an administration official, but the White House has not provided information on how it arrived at this figure [8].
Democrats and a powerful union have criticized the deferred resignation program, claiming it is an attempt to pressure employees to leave to make way for Trump loyalists [9]. The number of employees leaving the federal workforce, if the OPM director's estimate is accurate, will be more than double the 5.9 percent reduction in the federal workforce in fiscal year 2023 [10].
In summary, the 300,000-worker reduction plan mainly depends on voluntary buyouts, targeted layoffs of probationary staff, formal layoffs through RIFs, agency closures, and regulatory changes to streamline government employment protections, all rolling out throughout 2025 with most reductions expected to be completed by year-end [1][3].
The Trump administration's workforce reduction plan, aimed at reducing the federal workforce by 300,000 employees, primarily relies on voluntary buyouts and deferred resignations, with approximately 154,000 federal employees already accepting these offers as of mid-2025 [3]. War-and-conflicts, policy-and-legislation, and general-news are closely following the progress of this plan, as the administration also terminates probationary employees and orders RIFs, leading to layoffs in various agencies [1][2]. Politics, in particular, is focused on the criticism from Democrats and unions, claiming the plan is a tactic to oust current employees for Trump loyalists [9].
