An estimated 750,000 federal employees are furloughed as the first government shutdown since 2018 takes effect, with many workers fearing their temporary layoffs could lead to permanent termination. The shutdown, which has halted non-essential services, comes amid the Trump administration's threat to implement another sweeping wave of job cuts.
James Kirwan, a labour attorney within a government agency, said workers have been 'on edge for months'. 'We want to be working. We want to be serving the public,' he said, adding that the shutdown forces lower-paid employees to dip into savings or take on debt. Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America, warned that 'a single missed paycheck' could push many towards food banks.
The administration has faced criticism for ordering agencies to plan mass-scale firings during the shutdown. President Donald Trump suggested he would use the pause to 'get rid of a lot of things we didn’t want'. This follows the largest mass resignation in US history, with more than 100,000 federal workers set to quit under the deferred resignation programme.
Specific agencies are already taking action. The US Patent and Trademark Office announced a 'reduction in force' affecting about one per cent of its workforce. At the Environmental Protection Agency, only 1,700 out of 15,000 staff remain working; the rest are furloughed and may be at risk of permanent redundancy, according to union president Justin Chen.
Colin Smalley, a union representative for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago, described workers' livelihoods being used as a 'pawn' in a political showdown. The administration estimates federal employment will shrink by about 300,000 by year-end, though monthly jobs data is unavailable due to the shutdown. The last shutdown in 2018-2019 lasted 35 days and cost the economy an estimated $11bn.
