(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are undertaking a sweeping campaign to slash the size of the 2.3 million-strong civilian federal workforce, firing or offering buyouts so far to some 100,000 employees in an unprecedented and chaotic effort that shows no sign of slowing.
The layoffs to date have primarily been aimed at workers who have been in their current jobs for less than a year and have fewer job protections than longer-tenured staffers. But a new wave of cuts targeting career government workers has begun and will intensify after Trump ordered federal agencies on February 26 to undertake large-scale layoffs.
The Trump administration has yet to give a total number for how many people it has fired.
Here are details on some of the layoffs at federal departments and agencies gleaned by Reuters reporters so far.
DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
The Pentagon says it will cut 5,400 jobs. The cuts are a fraction of the 50,000 job losses that some had anticipated but they might not be the last. Darin Selnick, a top Pentagon official, said the agency will implement a hiring freeze and could ultimately reduce its 950,000-strong civilian workforce by 5% to 8%.
USAID
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which oversees the delivery of American humanitarian assistance, has said that all direct hires except essential workers will be put on leave and 1,600 USAID personnel in the U.S. will be cut.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
The Internal Revenue Service has started the process of firing 6,700 employees, largely affecting workers hired under the Biden administration as part of an effort to target fraud among wealthy taxpayers. Republicans opposed the expansion, arguing it would lead to harassment of ordinary Americans.
Overall, the tax-collecting agency has about 100,000 employees.
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The Trump administration in January fired more than a dozen Justice Department lawyers who brought two criminal cases against Trump. Between 18 and 20 probationary prosecutors who worked on the investigation of the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters were also fired.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Around 2,300 workers were laid off from the Interior Department, sources said, including about 800 people from the Bureau of Land Management, which manages millions of federally owned acres for uses ranging from oil and gas development to timber harvesting, recreation and cultural preservation.
Overall, the department employs more than 70,000 people and oversees 500 million acres (202.3 million hectares) of public lands, including dozens of national parks.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
The U.S. Forest Service, a division of the Agriculture Department which manages millions of acres of national forests and grasslands, is firing 3,400 probationary employees, equal to 10% of its workforce, people familiar with the plans said.
The Department of Agriculture said it accidentally fired several employees working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak and that it was attempting to rescind those layoffs.
Workers at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which supports agricultural science and technology research, and the Economic Research Service, which produces reports and data on the farm economy, have also been fired, sources said.
The extent of layoffs across the Agriculture Department, which employs nearly 100,000 people, remained unclear.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
The Trump administration has asked U.S. missions worldwide to prepare for staff cuts as part of an overhaul of the U.S. diplomatic corps. Trump says he wants a workforce that will not dither in implementing his policies.
Some embassies had been asked to look into reducing both U.S. staff as well as locally employed staff by 10% each. Already, dozens of contractors working at various State Department bureaus have been laid off.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
The Associated Press reported that nearly 1,300 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff members had been fired, comprising one-tenth of the agency’s workforce.
At the National Institutes of Health, 1,165 people, mostly probationary employees, were laid off, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.
The Food and Drug Administration, which reviews drugs, food safety, medical devices and tobacco, is planning to rehire around 300 people, representing about one-third of the 1,000 FDA workers who have been fired as part of the government cuts. Overall, the FDA has around 20,000 workers.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, NIH and the FDA, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, has more than 80,000 employees. Around 5,200 employees have lost their jobs, STAT News reported.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
More than 1,000 workers were let go from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health and other benefits to millions of military veterans.
The department was trying to rehire some employees who worked on the Veterans Crisis Line after Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth raised concerns, she said on X. Another Democratic senator, Patty Murray, said about 30 workers were rehired at an agency that operates a Pacific Northwest hydroelectric dam, after the firing of 200 employees caused a public outcry over the reliability of the power supply.
The department employs more than 450,000 people and oversees more than 1,500 healthcare facilities.
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
The Social Security Administration, which administers retirement and disability benefits for tens of millions of Americans, has eliminated two offices, including one overseeing civil rights programs, putting nearly 200 federal workers on administrative leave.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
About 700 workers have been laid off at the Department of Energy, the agency said. Sources have told Reuters that as many as 2,000 workers have been informed they were being laid off and that managers were told to provide evidence for why some of those should be re-hired.
On February 14, sources said 325 workers had been sent notice that they had been laid off from the National Nuclear Security Administration, an Energy Department office that manages the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal and secures dangerous nuclear materials around the world.
But after a public uproar and a scramble by the administration to hire back some of these employees, fewer than 50 workers from the agency were ultimately purged, the Energy Department said on Sunday.
Overall, the Energy Department has about 14,000 employees and 95,000 contractors.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
The Environmental Protection Agency, which enforces laws like the Clean Air Act and works to protect the environment, has fired 388 probationary employees. The agency has also placed on leave nearly 200 employees who work on environmental justice programs. The White House has said the EPA plans to cut its spending by 65%.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
The FAA fired more than 300 employees out of its workforce of 45,000, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X, as questions rise around air traffic safety amid a spate of recent plane accidents.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
At least 160 recent hires at the Department of Education have been notified of their termination, according to a letter seen by Reuters. Trump has called for the dissolution of the entire department and its 4,400 employees, though Congress would need to approve.
While local and state governments hold sway over most educational issues in the United States, the federal department provides billions of dollars in student loans and grants for higher education as well as funding for students with disabilities and economically disadvantaged students. The department also enforces civil rights laws.
COMPTROLLER OF THE CURRENCY
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the regulator charged with monitoring large national banks, told staff it was firing 76 probationary employees. In 2024, the OCC reported 3,630 full-time employees, according to its website.
CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
The independent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is responsible for consumer protection against banks, debt collectors and other companies in the financial sector, has been largely shuttered after the Trump administration ordered it to halt all activity.
Roughly 140 to 200 of the agency’s probationary and so-called term employees have been fired, people familiar with the matter said.
GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
About 100 employees at the General Services Administration received termination letters, according to sources. The independent agency, which manages the government’s real estate portfolio and oversees most government contracts, has more than 12,000 workers. Career employees have begun to receive termination notices and the GSA is expected to shutter many regional offices.
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
All probationary employees at the Office of Personnel Management, which handles human resources for the U.S. government, were fired in a group call that included around 100 people, sources said.
OPM has also started to fire career staff, eliminating its entire procurement team and gutting a group overseeing the handling of sensitive employee data within the agency, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration laid off 4% of its staff, a spokesperson said. Under former President Joe Biden, the agency grew by 30% and remains considerably larger after the cuts.
Its workforce was about 800 before the job cuts.
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
At least 45 probationary employees at the Small Business Administration were fired in a letter seen by Reuters. The agency, which employs several thousand people, provides support for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
(Reporting by Joseph Ax, Val Volcovici, Humeyra Pamuk, Douglas Gillison, Leah Douglas, Tim Gardner, David Shepardson, Nathan Layne and Tim Reid; Editing by Ross Colvin, Deepa Babington and Leslie Adler)
