The Trump administration plans to reduce the federal civilian workforce by approximately 300,000 employees this year, according to the new director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Scott Kupor. The projected cuts represent a 12.5% decrease in the federal workforce since January.
Kupor said that roughly 80% of the departures are expected to be voluntary, while the remaining 20% will be firings. The forecasted reduction nearly doubles the 154,000 federal employees who reportedly accepted buyouts last month, as part of an earlier downsizing initiative.
Upon returning to office in January, President Donald Trump relaunched efforts to slim down the federal workforce, which currently includes about 2.4 million civilian employees. The administration has described the federal government as bloated and inefficient, and has made restructuring a top priority.
“I cannot force people to lay people off,” Kupor said in an interview Thursday. “What I can do is persuade the cabinet secretaries to buy into our vision of government efficiency.”
Kupor’s comments mark a shift from the early months of Trump’s second term, during which OPM leadership reportedly instructed agencies to terminate newer employees, according to court filings.
If realized, the estimated reduction would more than double the 5.9% attrition rate recorded in fiscal year 2023, based on data compiled by the non-profit Partnership for Public Service.
Kupor declined to provide agency-by-agency breakdowns of the projected departures but stated that OPM will release the official figures at a later date. In the meantime, agencies have been directed to submit proposals for additional workforce reductions to White House Budget Director Russ Vought, as preparations begin for the president’s next budget request to Congress.
-HR HUB
