By Nathan Layne, Tim Reid, and Alexandra Alper
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government’s human resources agency is moving swiftly to close down and significantly reduce entire departments, setting a precedent for a potential surge of layoffs within the federal bureaucracy, according to sources familiar with the developments.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), responsible for managing personal information of millions of current and former government employees, has disbanded its procurement team of 40 employees and streamlined a unit overseeing sensitive employee data, sources revealed on condition of anonymity.
These actions at OPM are seen as a blueprint for broader workforce reductions within government agencies. A spokesperson for OPM declined to comment.
Targeting career civil servants, who form the majority of the 2.3 million civilian government workforce, is believed to be a crucial step in the downsizing initiative led by tech magnate Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
While previous job cuts were primarily executed through voluntary resignations and the dismissal of probationary employees, the next phase could involve mass layoffs affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
Recent layoffs at OPM, predominantly impacting career employees, were conducted through reductions in force (RIFs). Approximately 50 employees were let go via this method in the past 10 days.
RIFs are formal procedures used by agencies to lay off staff during reorganizations, involving a complex and lengthy process where agencies must justify the targeting of career employees, who have the opportunity to appeal the decision.
Recent internal communication at the General Services Administration indicated that RIFs would commence within that agency. OPM, serving as the central hub for Trump and Musk’s efforts to reduce the civil service, is fast-tracking the removal of career employees with long-standing protections.
According to sources, the accelerated timeline is intended to demonstrate to other agencies the speed at which such actions can be taken. New managers at OPM have reportedly indicated that these layoffs will set a new standard for future reductions.
Affected career workers at OPM were reportedly immediately locked out of the agency’s systems and placed on paid administrative leave for 60 days.
Earlier this month, Trump issued an executive order directing agencies to devise strategies for dismissing federal employees, with a mandate stating that agencies can only hire one new employee for every four departures.
Musk’s mission is to significantly reduce the size and expenses of the federal bureaucracy.
The men argue that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is bloated, inefficient, and costly to U.S. taxpayers, who predominantly provide its funding from their hard-earned wages. Alongside the procurement team and a group dedicated to safeguarding employee data – which has been reduced to just eight employees – OPM has also removed a communications team consisting of approximately 20 individuals and a diversity, equity, and inclusion team comprised of seven members through the Reduction in Force (RIF) process, as per a source. (Reporting by Tim Reid, Nathan Layne, and Alexandra Alper, edited by Ross Colvin and Rosalba O’Brien)
