The Trump administration is preparing for a sharper reduction in the federal workforce than previously expected. According to Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, the US government will shed about 317,000 employees this year as part of President Donald Trump’s second-term plan to streamline federal operations.
Kupor confirmed the updated figures in a statement, noting that the government also hired 68,000 new workers in 2025. Both numbers exceed the estimates he shared earlier in interviews with Reuters, when he projected around 300,000 departures and 50,000 new hires.
The cuts follow Trump’s pledge to reduce what he describes as an “overgrown and inefficient” civilian workforce. Before Trump began his second term, roughly 2.4 million people were employed by the federal government.
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created during Trump’s second term, has overseen the downsizing process across federal agencies. The office’s mandate is to identify redundancies, restructure departments, and reduce payroll expenses while aiming to improve operational performance.
Kupor said in a post on X on Monday that he and White House budget director Russ Vought are now working to “institutionalise” DOGE’s mission, ensuring that its workforce-reduction strategies become permanent features of federal management policy.
The administration argues that the cuts will modernise government and reduce long-term spending. Critics, however, warn the shrinking workforce may slow essential public services, weaken agencies’ ability to meet national needs, and concentrate decision-making among fewer federal employees.
With hiring also continuing at a measured pace, the administration maintains that the goal is not to halt recruitment entirely but to reshape the size and structure of the federal government to align with Trump’s efficiency agenda.
More details on department-by-department reductions are expected later in the year as agencies adjust to their new staffing targets.
