2025 United States federal mass layoffs

About 300,000 United States federal civil service layoffs have been announced by the second Trump administration, almost all of them attributed to the Department of Government Efficiency. On August 26, 2025, the Partnership for Public Service said just under 200,000 federal workers had already left their jobs. As of July 14, 2025, CNN has tracked at least 51,224 workers laid off or targeted for layoffs. As of May 12, 2025, The New York Times tracked more than 58,500 confirmed cuts, more than 76,000 employee buyouts, and more than 149,000 other planned reductions; cuts total 12% of the 2.4 million civilian federal workers.

The federal workforce has been reduced in stages: an executive order deprived civil servants of employment protections; a program nudged workers to resign; agencies were shut down; and a series of reductions in force (RIF) were planned. Critics argue the layoffs reduced critical services, violated the law, increased the power of the presidency, and stemmed from "deep state" conspiracy theories. The White House has claimed that they saved expenditures, reduced regulations, and downsized the government role in society. It has at times rescinded layoff notifications. Federal judges have ruled many of the firings to be illegal, but refused to reinstate workers citing recent Supreme Court's rulings in favor of the administration's claims of expansive executive authority.

Responses to the mass layoffs have included praise, criticism, and lawsuits.