Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - International Service: The wave of resignations comes as the US Congress faces a Tuesday deadline to approve a new budget or face a government shutdown. At the same time, the White House has ordered federal agencies to prepare extensive plans to reduce the workforce and lay off employees if an agreement is not reached.

 

Employees leaving the government under these plans have spoken of months of “fear and intimidation” due to job insecurity and work pressures that have forced them to leave government service. “Federal employees stay to do their jobs, but when that job is taken away from them and their job security is at risk, they have to leave,” one longtime FEMA employee told the Guardian.

 

The total cost of the furlough program is estimated at $14.8 billion, according to a report released by Senate Democrats in July. The program has seen about 200,000 employees on furlough leave receive full pay and benefits for up to eight months. Trump administration officials, however, say the cost is worth it.

 

The Office of Personnel Management believes the one-time costs will reduce federal spending in the long run. It has also criticized the current federal employment system, which it says needs to be updated, and has called for a more modern and flexible employment framework.

 

“There is no additional cost to the government because employees would have been paid anyway,” a White House spokesman said. “This is the largest and most effective workforce reduction plan in American history, saving the government $28 billion annually.”

 

A total of about 275,000 employees will be removed from the government through deferred resignation, voluntary separation, reductions in the workforce and early retirement, according to the White House spokesman. In addition, thousands of federal employees have been directly laid off by the government.

 

The massive wave of layoffs is the largest annual decline in federal civilian employment since World War II. The unemployment rate also hit 4.3 percent in August 2025, the highest level since 2021, and only 22,000 new jobs were added amid an unstable economy and tariff tensions.