300,000 Fewer US Federal Workers Will Be on Payroll by December 31

About 300,000 fewer federal workers will be on the government payroll by the end of December than there were in January, according to the Trump administration’s top human resources official, Eileen Sullivan reported for The New York Times.

That amounts to a reduction of about one in eight federal civilian employees and marks the largest single-year downsizing since World War II. In an interview, Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor described the coming months as a period of “relative stability” after “tremendous upheaval.”

He said resignation incentives first introduced by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) accounted for most of the 300,000 departures, with most separations occurring by the end of September and the rest by year’s end.

Although some already-announced cuts remain pending, Kupor said he did not expect major new layoffs — formally called reductions in force — before September 30, the close of the fiscal year.

“That’s roughly like 2.4 million to start and ending roughly about 2.1 million,” Kupor said of the civilian workforce when Trump returned to office compared with projections for the end of 2025.

The numbers provide the clearest picture yet of Trump’s downsizing efforts. Trump has argued the cuts eliminate waste, save money, and make government more efficient, but critics say the reductions have drained expertise, crippled services, and devastated families dependent on federal employment.