The federal government is on track to cut roughly 300,000 civilian employees by the end of 2025, marking a 12.5% reduction in staffing since January, according to Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor. He told Reuters Thursday that 80% of departures are expected to be voluntary, while the remaining 20% will result from firings.
The U.S. civilian federal workforce currently numbers about 2.4 million, excluding 1.3 million active-duty military personnel and approximately 600,000 U.S. Postal Service employees. A 2024 Pew Research report noted that the federal government employed 1.87% of the entire civilian labor force when including postal workers, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
The workforce reduction fulfills a key promise from President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda to streamline government operations. Upon taking office, Trump launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed initially by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk. The initiative aimed to eliminate waste, cut regulations, and shrink the size of the federal workforce.
Trump compared DOGE’s mission to the “Manhattan Project” in terms of urgency and scale. While Musk originally pledged to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, he later adjusted the goal to $1 trillion. By April, Musk reported that DOGE was on track to save $150 billion. Musk has since left the role following a public dispute with the president.
Some federal employee unions have challenged the cuts in court, arguing they threaten government services and workers’ rights. Several of these disputes remain unresolved. The administration, however, maintains that the reductions are essential to creating a leaner, more effective federal government.
