On Friday, October 10, coinciding with the tenth day of a government shutdown, the White House announced significant staff reductions across federal agencies. The Office of Management and Budget confirmed to AFP that these layoffs would be “substantial,” with an official stating on social media platform X that “RIFs have begun.”
Departments including the Education Department, Health Department, and Treasury Department, alongside various Human Services divisions, reported impacted employees, specifically targeting those who had been furloughed. Communications director Andrew Nixon indicated that these reductions were part of ongoing efforts to close “wasteful and duplicative entities” consistent with the administration’s stated objectives. This action followed previous warnings from the administration that layoffs could commence if shutdown negotiations with congressional Democrats proved unsuccessful.
In response, federal employee unions have initiated legal action, petitioning a court to block the announced layoffs.
Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/us-news/mass-layoffs-of-federal-workers-begins-as-trump-ramps-up-pressure-over-govt-shutdown-11760120123302.html