Federal agencies deadline to present ‘reductions in force’ to Elon Musk’s DOGE nears: Employees anxious as Trump administration readying another round of ‘mass layoffs’
Federal agencies are scrambling to meet Monday’s deadline to present plans for another round of mass layoffs, further advancing the Trump administration’s government downsizing initiative led by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The impending “reductions in force” come after February’s termination of thousands of probationary federal employees and will provide clearer insight into the administration’s vision for a smaller federal government, according to reporting from The New York Times.
Trump administration and Musk’s DOGE target thousands of federal jobs
“Agency supervisors and managers have largely been left in the dark about the personnel changes,” said an Environmental Protection Agency scientist who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Many have come to rely on the news media to learn about their job security.”
Some departments have already begun implementing cuts. The Department of Health and Human Services laid off approximately 10,000 employees on April 1, with some workers discovering they were terminated only when their building badges stopped working. In some cases, entire departments and programs were eliminated.
Thousands of additional federal workers have resigned voluntarily in recent days, accepting temporary pay in exchange for quitting. The National Park Service alone has seen more than 1,100 such departures, The Times reported.
Uncertainty grows as DOGE and Trump push forward with government overhaul
“Scant information about the resignation and early retirement offers has left federal workers to seek advice on social media about whether to accept,” a Homeland Security official noted, describing how employees were given just 48 hours to make career-altering decisions.
The cuts have created widespread uncertainty across federal agencies. Fired probationary workers remain in limbo following fluctuating court rulings that initially forced reinstatements but were later overturned or paused.
Further complicating matters, President Trump fired Merit System Protections Board head Cathy A. Harris, leaving the independent administrative board without a quorum to hear employment appeals. This means newly terminated workers could wait years for their cases to be reviewed.
The DOGE initiative has already resulted in tens of thousands of departures, casting what The Times describes as “a pall over the federal workforce” since Trump returned to office.
