Trump admin expects to reach 300K federal layoffs in 2025: OPM

OPM Director Scott Kupor gave the estimate in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, highlighting that roughly 80% of that figure would come from personnel accepting voluntary buyouts.

By Ben Whedon

Published: August 15, 2025 10:02am

President Donald Trump's Office of Personnel Management (OPM) this week estimated that the administration's efforts to shrink the size of the federal government would result in roughly 300,000 layoffs by the end of the year.

OPM Director Scott Kupor gave the estimate in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, highlighting that roughly 80% of that figure would come from personnel accepting voluntary buyouts. The remaining 20% would be the result of layoffs, which would come from the federal agencies.

"I cannot force people to lay people off,” he told the outlet. The administration has aimed for a 12.5% reduction in the federal workforce.

After an initial buyout offer, federal agencies began to offer a second round of buyouts in April, hoping to capitalize on career officials' fatigue with Trump's shakeup.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.