The U.S. government’s human resources agency, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), is rapidly cutting jobs, serving as a model for a broader wave of layoffs across federal agencies. According to sources familiar with the matter, OPM has eliminated its 40-member procurement team and drastically reduced the group handling sensitive employee data.
These cuts are part of a larger effort led by President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to shrink the federal workforce. While earlier layoffs focused on voluntary resignations and probationary employees, this next phase targets career civil servants.
In the past 10 days, about 50 OPM employees were laid off through “reductions in force” (RIFs) — a formal process usually requiring months of justification and appeal periods. However, OPM is moving swiftly, with sources describing the timeline as “rushed” to set an example for other agencies.
The General Services Administration is also preparing for RIFs, with internal emails confirming cuts will begin this week.
Trump recently signed an executive order limiting agencies to hiring one employee for every four who leave, reinforcing the push to downsize.
At OPM, those laid off were quickly locked out of systems and placed on 60 days of paid administrative leave. In addition to the procurement and data teams, OPM has eliminated a 20-member communications team and a seven-person diversity, equity, and inclusion unit.
The aggressive cuts reflect Trump and Musk’s belief that the federal bureaucracy is bloated and costly, pushing forward their mission to streamline government operations.
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