Federal workers are uncertain about their job status following a recent wave of layoffs that occurred alongside a federal government shutdown. The Trump administration announced the termination of approximately 4,200 federal employees on Friday, affecting seven agencies, though 700 layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were reversed shortly thereafter. A hearing is set for Wednesday after labor unions filed a lawsuit aiming to block these firings, signaling a potential legal conflict regarding the administration’s ongoing attempts to reduce the federal workforce.
Confusion among employees has grown, particularly at the Department of Education, where some workers reported lacking access to their work email during the shutdown. This has hindered their ability to ascertain if they have received “reduction in force” notices. One anonymous employee expressed concern about not being able to confirm their employment status, highlighting that notices were sent to official government emails which are currently inaccessible.
While Trump indicated that many government positions would be eliminated, it is unclear how far the administration intends to extend these layoffs. This follows a significant reduction in the federal workforce over the past year.
Additionally, employees raised concerns about the timing of their layoffs, noting that some were announced just before the funeral of a long-term division director. A reduction-in-force notice circulated within the Department of Education cited a “continued lapse in funding” as the reason for the layoffs.
Despite past legal challenges that temporarily halted firings in March, the administration appears to be moving forward with additional reductions, prompting anxiety among employees across various departments regarding their own job security. The White House has not provided comments on the situation, while the Department of Education is currently in furlough status and unable to respond to inquiries.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/15/trump-federal-workers-layoffs