US Government Agency OPM Rushes Mass Layoffs, Sets Template for Federal Bureaucracy Downsizing

Washington - The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is rapidly executing mass layoffs, eliminating its entire procurement team and significantly reducing its employee data handling group. Sources indicate this serves as a model for further downsizing across federal agencies. Tech billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) aims to eliminate career employees, who constitute the majority of the 2.3 million-strong civilian government workforce. About 50 OPM employees were let go via reductions in force (RIF) in the last 10 days. OPM is acting as the command center for efforts by President Donald Trump and Mr Musk to shrink the civil service. Earlier in January, Mr Trump signed an executive order telling agencies to come up with new plans to fire federal workers. The order said agencies can only hire one new employee for every four that leave.