280K Jobs Cut by DOGE: Will They Come Back?
Written by
T. Woods
Edited by
Amber Barkley
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
One of the more controversial elements of President Donald Trump’s second administration has been the creation and implementation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the initiative designed to cut federal spending and waste, with billionaire and senior advisor to the president Elon Musk acting as DOGE’s ostensible figurehead.
A great deal of the controversy has stemmed from the question of accountability within DOGE, as well as the tens of thousands of government employees that the initiative has terminated.
Next, learn more about Musk’s role in the government and how it could impact your finances.
Which Jobs Have Been Cut?
Just how many government employees have been fired to stem what DOGE has declared as wasteful or excess spending? Career services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has discovered that approximately 280,000 individuals have been terminated by DOGE across 27 separate government agencies.
Among those cuts are 24,000 probationary workers, 75,000 federal employees who accepted the government’s offer to quit with severance, 18,000 at the IRS and 10,000 at the Department of Health and Human Services, Forbes reported.
Will Employees Be Rehired?
That said, these terminations may not be permanent. In fact, the government is already working to bring some of these jobs back.
For instance, The Guardian reported that, of the 10,000 employees fired from the Department of Health and Human Services, 2,000 were apparently terminated in error, a fact confirmed by Secretary of Health of Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr.
“Personnel that should not have been cut, were cut,” Kennedy stated. “We’re reinstating them. And that was always the plan. Part of the DOGE, we talked about this from the beginning, is we’re going to do 80% cuts, but 20% of those are going to have to be reinstated, because we’ll make mistakes.”
Further, Forbes noted that the Department of Agriculture, the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Food and Drug Administration, among others, have rehired hundreds of DOGE-terminated employees. Additionally, those 24,000 probationary employees who lost their jobs may be getting them back, as federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to either rehire them directly or place them on administrative leave.
The fluidity of federal employment in the DOGE era makes clear that many of these jobs are not lost and gone forever — as of early April, around 26,000 are expected to be rehired, with more potentially to come.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
More From GOBankingRates
