BREAKING: 4,000 federal workers were just laid off.
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) October 13, 2025
The Office of Management and Budget confirmed that more than 4,000 federal employees received Reduction in Force (RIF) notices beginning Friday, October 11, 2025. These layoffs are not furloughs. They are terminations. Unlike previous shutdowns where workers were temporarily unpaid but retained, this move permanently cuts staff from agencies including:
- Department of Health and Human Services
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Treasury
- Department of Education
- Department of Energy
- Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Environmental Protection Agency
“The Trump administration announced Friday that it has begun ‘substantial’ layoffs of federal workers… The RIFs have begun.”
The Trump administration later said about 4,000 federal workers had so far received RIF notices. The figure was detailed in a court document the Justice Department submitted in response to a lawsuit from unions representing government workers. But additional layoffs are coming, a senior administration official told USA TODAY.
The initial wave of layoffs spanned seven federal departments: 315 workers in the Commerce Department; 466 in the Education Department; 187 in the Energy Department; between 1,100 and 1,200 in the Department of Health and Human Services; 442 in the Department of Housing and Urban Development; 176 in the Department Homeland Security; and 1,446 in the Treasury Department.
BREAKING: There is now a 69% chance that the government will remain shut down for more than 30 days. pic.twitter.com/vWyfONYvNH
— Leading Report (@LeadingReport) October 13, 2025
