The Trump administration expects to shrink the federal workforce by about 300,000 employees this year, according to newly appointed Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott
Kupor. The reduction would mark a 12.5% drop since January.
Kupor said roughly 80% of the departures are expected to be voluntary, with the remaining 20% resulting from dismissals. The figure represents almost double the 154,000 workers Reuters reported last month as having accepted buyouts.
President Donald Trump began his second term with a sweeping initiative to cut the 2.4 million–strong federal civilian workforce, calling it bloated and inefficient. “I cannot force people to lay people off,” Kupor said in an interview Thursday. “I have to convince cabinet secretaries to share the vision of government efficiency.”
This approach marks a shift from early in Trump’s second term, when OPM reportedly instructed agencies to terminate employees new to their roles, according to court filings.
If Kupor’s forecast proves correct, 2025’s attrition rate will exceed double the 5.9% voluntary departure rate recorded in fiscal year 2023, according to the Partnership for Public Service.
Kupor declined to break down the numbers by agency, saying OPM will release those figures later. He noted that federal agencies are preparing proposals for additional cuts, which will be reviewed by White House Budget Director Russ Vought as the president shapes his next budget request to Congress. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.
