We all suffer from federal workforce cuts
Updated March 13 to reflect the most recent developments.
The Trump administration came into office promising a boost to our economy and American jobs, but instead his Department of Government Efficiency, headed up by billionaire Elon Musk, has slashed 200,000 federal positions – firing many employees responsible for protecting clean air, clean water, and our nation’s natural treasures.
This move combined with ordering federal agencies to conceal public health and science data shows this administration isn’t trying to hide its slash and burn ambush on Americans’ health and safety.
Geoff Gisler, SELC Program Director
Fired employees are public servants, our neighbors, and important members of our Southern communities. And when already underfunded agencies lose even more capacity, the consequences will hit hard in the South, where pollution levels are high, and state agencies already often lack the funding and staff to hold polluters accountable.
More layoffs are on the horizon. Here’s what we know right now:
Breakdown by agency
Department of the Interior – 2,300 total employees fired
- National Park Service – 1,000 employees fired
- Our region’s iconic Blue Ridge Parkway and the Great Smoky Mountains are centerpieces of two of the most visited national parks in the U.S. Until now, their guardians were helping with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.
- Packing up the car for a trip to one of our great national parks, or any public lands, is an American rite of passage – one that should never include arriving to overflowing trashcans in dirty bathrooms, no emergency resources, or dangerous road and trail conditions.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – 420 employees fired
- As the only federal agency that protects our animals, plants, and habitat, it’s critical for ensuring a healthy environment in the South.
- Threatened and endangered Southern species like red wolves, loggerhead sea turtles, and piping plovers are at risk of extinction and deserve protections.
- This agency was already stretched so thin, it could barely manage the National Wildlife Refuge system our region and its native species have benefited from since 1903.
- Other agency duties now up in the air include managing migratory birds including Southern swans, ducks, and geese, fish hatcheries, hunting councils, wetland conservation, addressing invasive species, and so much more.
Environmental Protection Agency – 388 employees fired
- EPA has closed all environmental justice offices in response to the Trump administration’s order to end “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferences.”
- This move was foreshadowed by placing 170 employees across the agency’s EJ offices on paid administrative leave in early February.
- This is a massive blow to environmental justice across our region, where communities face a monstrous amount of pollution.
Department of Agriculture
This department fired employees working to keep us safe from bird flu and is currently trying to rehire them. Any job protecting America’s food system is also critical to public health and our environment, especially in the South where many of the nation’s farmers grow crops for the whole country.
- U.S. Forest Service – 3,400 employees fired
- That’s 10 percent of its workforce.
- A hiring freeze has kept this agency understaffed since the beginning of its fiscal year in October 2024.
Department of Energy
- National Nuclear Security Administration – 1,200 to 2,000 employees fired
- While moving the needle on renewable energy is not on the Trump administration’s agenda, experts say national security and economic growth are also on the chopping block.
Department of Health and Human Services
The integrity of our public health data and research is critical to ensuring the health of our communities. We use public data regularly to make legal arguments.
- National Institutes of Health
- “A huge number” of people let go, according to Reuters
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – 1,300 employees fired
- That’s 10 percent of this agency’s workforce.
- At least 16 of the jobs cut were from the World Trade Center Health Program for 9/11 first responders.
Department of Homeland Security
- Federal Emergency Management Agency – 200 workers fired
- The flood-prone Southeast is experiencing more severe consequences every year, and after natural disasters such as hurricanes, Southerners’ livelihoods depend on help from FEMA.
- The capacity to manage multiple natural disasters at once is now compromised, and more problematic than ever as climate change causes more frequent storms and flooding.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
- Office of Community Planning and Development is expected to lose 84 percent of its staff, or nearly 800 workers.
- HUD employees also help communities recover after devastating natural events. They’re on the frontlines of helping those communities come back stronger and more resilient.
- The timing is particularly harmful for Carolinians who are just beginning to rebuild after Hurricane Helene and communities working to recover from and prevent floods.
- More disaster recovery jobs and programs will be hit the hardest here.
Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – 1,909 workers fired
- That’s 20 percent of the agency’s total staff.
- This small organization includes the National Weather Service, Storm Prediction Center, and National Marine Fisheries Service.
- NOAA manages everything from climate and weather forecasting to oceans research and fisheries regulation.
What does probationary mean?
Typically, federal employees working for less than two years are considered probationary. However, not all probationary workers are new hires. Some have reported being with their agencies for years, only on ‘probationary’ status after moving to a new role or getting promoted.
Probationary employees have the fewest job protections and are easiest to fire.
Who is the Trump administration targeting in its firing spree?
Health and environmental officials may have taken the biggest hit with the loss of so many critical staff.
The South can’t afford to put on hold any recovery efforts from catastrophic natural disasters like Hurricane Helene, protecting public lands from increasing wildfires, going to bat for threatened and endangered species, or accommodating the ecotourism industry we rely on.
“Not in the public interest,” is how federal firing orders described these roles and more. But with climate change being the defining environmental challenge of our time, the importance of protecting the South’s world-famous biodiversity cannot be overstated.
This special place is home to the richest aquatic fauna of any temperate area in the world, rivaling the tropics. Alabama itself is the most biodiverse state east of the Mississippi. And the Appalachian Mountains, revered by hikers from around the world, support over 40 species of salamander — more than any other place on the planet. The South hosts numerous imperiled and endemic species that cannot afford any further setbacks in their population recovery.
A healthy environment for all is possible
“Think about what else our leaders might be able to accomplish if harming people and the environment wasn’t their priority,” says Geoff Gisler.
We expect more workforce cuts that will make it easier to pollute our air and water are on the horizon. SELC is committed to using our resources to help fill the gaps left by the layoffs.
Losing critically important federal support at a time when communities need it more than ever will create challenges and impacts that will last well beyond the current administration.
Communities across the South and beyond will continue to demand clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment at all levels of government.
Chandra Taylor-Sawyer, Leader of SELC’s Environmental Justice Initiative