Trump federal job cuts hit home. Indiana woman among US government layoffs for 'poor performance'

Trump federal job cuts hit home. Indiana woman among US government layoffs for ‘poor performance’

Posted by author February 28, 2025 Jobs

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President Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiated mass layoffs of probationary federal employees.
A federal judge temporarily halted the firings, deeming the OPM’s actions likely unlawful.
Terminated employees, some with exemplary records, express concern over the “poor performance” reason cited in dismissal letters and its potential impact on future employment.

President Donald Trump and the DOGE, led by Elon Musk, have abruptly terminated tens of thousands of probationary federal government employees.

Terminated employees have taken issue with references to “poor job performance” in dismissal letters, wondering how future job opportunities will be impacted despite receiving flawless reviews, cash awards and commendations before the firings.

A federal judge temporarily blocked additional firings by the Trump administration on Thursday, citing a lack of authority.

Here’s what we know:

Why is Trump cutting federal jobs in 2025? Why is DOGE issuing federal employee layoffs?

On Wednesday, the Trump administration released a memo to heads of federal departments and agencies expecting to initiate “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13, according to USA Today.

The memo issued by Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management instructed federal departments to:

consolidate and eliminate duplicative positions
produce reorganization plans
reduce property footprints

“The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,” the memo from OMB Director Russ Vought and OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell says. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public. Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hardworking American citizens.”

What is the DOGE?

The DOGE stand for the Department of Government Efficiencies and is spearheaded by Elon Musk.

2025 Trump federal jobs employee layoffs cite ‘poor performance’. Indiana worker: ‘This is the official record now’

Last year, Megan Ruxton took a pay cut from her private-sector job with a digital health technology company to join the Food and Drug Administration as a social scientist with the Center for Tobacco Products. She helped screen tobacco products before reaching the market to ensure they would not worsen the harmful effects of tobacco for adults or appeal to children.

She had hoped that she and other probationary employees would be spared from the cuts because their work was in the public interest and it was funded through tobacco industry fees, not taxpayers.

But last Saturday she was home in Indianapolis with her husband when the bad news hit.

What angered her the most was the boilerplate language blaming poor performance. Her personnel record reviewed by USA TODAY shows she only received favorable reviews.

“I am getting choked up now just talking about it. Like many of my colleagues, I’ve always been the best at anything I do. I have never been told that my performance is inadequate. Ever,” Ruxton said. “They said our employment was no longer in the public interest. Forgive my language but bull—-.”

What’s more, she worries the termination will hurt her chances of landing a new job in the federal government or the private sector.

“I hope that people understand, but this is the official record now. If I am asked if I have ever been terminated from a position, I am going to have to say yes and I may or may not be given the opportunity to explain why,” she said. “I think to some degree there are people out there who will see this and understand that this is not representative of who I am. But I can’t guarantee that.”

Did a US federal judge block 2025 federal employee layoffs by the Trump administration and the DOGE?

Yes, U.S. District Court for the Northern California District Judge William Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to discontinue the mass firings on Thursday because he considered them likely unlawful.

The judge said OPM was out of line by telling other agencies – including the Department of Education, Department of Energy and the Small Business Administration – to lay off employees.

“OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe, to hire or fire any employees, but its own,” Alsup said.

How much do US federal jobs pay employees? What is the average government worker salary?

More than half of federal employees made less than $100,000 per year with the average salary hitting nearly $106,000, according to pbs.org. Here are some other numbers to consider:

About 17 percent made more than $150,000 a year.
Average blue collar salary was about $70,000
Average white collar worker salary was about $110,000
About 40 percent of Veterans Affairs employees made between $50,000 and $80,000 per year
Men made about $7,000 per year than their female counterparts.
The average salary for a white federal worker was $111,000 compared to Black and Hispanic/Latino federal workers averaging less than $97,000.

Federal employee layoffs 2025: Where do most government workers live?

Federal employees both work and live in all 50 states and overseas, according to pbs.org. Here’s a look at the numbers:

About 454,000 federal employees work in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
More than 80% of the other 1.8 million federal workers lived elsewhere in the U.S. or abroad in 2024.
About 151,000 federal workers lived in California
Around 131,000 federal workers lived in Texas.
Approximately 95,000 federal workers lived in Florida.
Nearly 6,800 federal workers lived in Wyoming.
About 5,700 federal workers lived in North Dakota.
Around 19,000 workers lived in these U.S. territories:
- American Samoa
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Guam
- Midway Islands
- Puerto Rico
- Virgin Islands
Approximately 31,000 additional federal employees lived in foreign countries
Nearly 4,200 lived in “unspecified” locations around the world.
About 276,000 federal workers for agencies such as the FBI and Secret Service had U.S. locations kept in secret.