Trump administration likely to lay off 300,000 employees

The Trump administration is expected to lay off around 300,000 individuals in the United States, confirmed a newly appointed Human Resources Chief, adding that the measure would reduce at least 12.5 per cent of the federal workforce since January.

Scott Kupor, Personnel Management director, stated that 80% of workers are expected to leave voluntarily, and 20% would be terminated. If it happens, the number of workers would nearly double compared to last month, which was 154,000.

Following his assumption of office, US President Trump launched a massive drive to downsize the 2.4 million workforce in federal civilian departments, which he describes as bloated and inefficient.

"I cannot force people to lay people off,” Reuters quoted Kupor as saying in an interview in Washington on Thursday, in which he added that he would have to persuade cabinet secretaries to buy into his vision of government efficiency.

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The comments differ from the early months of Trump’s second term, during which OPM leadership reportedly instructed agencies to fire recently hired employees, according to a court filing.

If Kupor’s projection proves correct, the rate of federal employee departures will exceed twice the 5.9% attrition rate seen in the US civilian federal workforce during fiscal year 2023, the latest available figure on voluntary exits, as reported by the non-profit Partnership for Public Service.

Kupor chose not to disclose staffing numbers for specific federal agencies, noting that OPM plans to release that data at a later time.

He also said that agencies will present their proposed cuts to White House Budget Director Russ Vought as part of the president’s preparation for his upcoming budget request to Congress. Kupor added that he had a meeting with the budget office on Wednesday.