Trump's mass layoff threat drives US government workers to resign
Source: Reuters
May 20, 2025 11:14 AM EDT Updated 9 hours ago
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of U.S. government workers have chosen to resign rather than endure what many view as a torturous wait for the Trump administration to carry out its threats to fire them, say unions, governance experts and the employees themselves.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on taking office to dramatically slash the size and cost of government. Four months later, mass layoffs at the largest agencies have yet to materialize and courts have slowed the process.
Instead, most of the roughly 260,000 civil servants who have left or will leave by the end of September have taken buyouts or other incentives to quit. Some told Reuters they could no longer live with the daily stress of waiting to be fired after multiple warnings from Trump administration officials that they could lose their jobs in the next wave of layoffs.
As a result, Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk'sDepartment of Government Efficiency have managed to cut nearly 12% of the 2.3 million-strong federal civilian workforce largely through threats of firings, buyouts and early retirement offers, a Reuters review of agency departures found. The White House did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Trump and Musk say the federal bureaucracy is bloated, inefficient and beset with waste and fraud.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/trumps-mass-layoff-threat-drives-us-government-workers-resign-2025-05-20/