The US government has acknowledged that some agencies are walking back planned layoffs, with the Office of Personnel Management saying that incentivized departures and natural attrition have reduced the need for reductions in force. Senior Advisor Noah Peters testified before a federal court that RIF (Reduced-In-Force) plans are “moving targets” and should not be made public.
The Trump administration had submitted notices of intent to reduce workforce through mass layoffs at various agencies, including State, Education, and Health and Human Services. However, some departments have since changed their plans, reassessing staffing needs after significant chunks of their workforces left through voluntary means.
Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, and other departments had previously submitted requests to change employee categorization for the purposes of layoffs, resulting in an initial 70 RIF actions at 19 agencies. However, Peters stated that several agencies have since dropped some planned RIFs, citing changes in staffing needs.
The Veterans Affairs Department has recently announced it will cut only 30,000 workers instead of 80,000, and is not relying on RIFs to achieve this reduction. The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget require agencies to submit reorganization and RIF plans, which are “living documents” subject to change.
The court has now asked the administration to explain why it does not want to disclose individual agency RIF plans, with attorneys suggesting that redactions should be limited.
Source: https://www.govexec.com/workforce/2025/07/some-agencies-are-walking-back-planned-layoffs-trump-administration-says/406737