Trump administration directs 70% cut to internal OPM staffing, programs

Management

Trump administration directs 70% cut to internal OPM staffing, programs

By Monday, all OPM offices are expected to give political leaders staffing charts with plans for an initial 30% reduction for both feds and contractors.

Drew Friedman@dfriedmanWFED

January 31, 2025 3:53 pm

2 min read

Editor’s Note: This story was updated with data on the OPM workforce size. The headline of this story was also updated to clarify that the 70% cut references internal OPM staff and programs.

Trump administration officials are taking major steps to cut down the size of the workforce and federal programs at the Office of Personnel Management.

During an internal meeting Friday morning, Trump administration officials directed OPM senior career staff to begin making plans to cut the agency’s workforce and programs by 70%. Multiple sources with direct knowledge of the meeting confirmed the details of the meeting to Federal News Network.

Sources who provided information to Federal News Network on the condition of anonymity said the political leadership at the agency also directed OPM leaders to stop work on anything that is not statutorily required.

Trump administration officials told agency office leaders and associate directors at OPM to prepare briefs over the weekend detailing all of their work and programs that are statutorily required. By Monday, all OPM offices are expected to give political leaders organizational staffing charts with plans for an initial 30% reduction for both federal employees and contractors.

“People around OPM look like they have seen ghost. People are shocked,” a source told Federal News Network by email.

According to FedScope data, as of March 2024, OPM had 2,902 agency employees — 2,148 of which are career employees in the competitive service. Close to 1,300 employees are bargaining unit members with the American Federation of Government Employees.

Based on the conversations in Friday morning’s meeting, it’s unclear at this time what components or programs at OPM will be cut as part of the 70% reduction. But it’s likely the cuts will impact Retirement Services, the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, and other major federal programs that OPM runs.

OPM declined to comment on the details of the agency meeting.

The plans at OPM align with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to overhaul and majorly reduce the size of the federal workforce governmentwide.

Many federal employees remain uncertain about how to respond to the offer of a “deferred resignation” by the end of next week.

If employees don’t take the deferred resignation, the next phase will likely be issuing reductions in force (RIFs) and creating performance evaluation plans to try to further cut down the size of the federal workforce, according to a source familiar with OPM’s plans. OPM is also looking at the possibility of offering voluntary early retirements to eligible employees.

“This is all driven by the president’s promise to reduce the size of government. But this is cutting with a hatchet not a scalpel,” a source told Federal News Network. “They are trying to get the government down to a minimum set of services. We all know that this will affect the people who need the services.”