Federal Workforce Cuts Beating Administration Goals; Agencies to Review Senior Executive Staffing

New numbers are out on the size of the federal workforce.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says approximately 317,000 employees left the federal government workforce in 2025, while about 68,000 were hired.

According to OPM Director Scott Kupor that is ahead of schedule, as OPM expected about 300,000 employees to depart the federal payrolls at this point, and had wanted to hire just one employee for every four that depart. 

Director Kupor discussed the cuts in a blog post explaining the need to submit annual headcount plans. 

Agencies will have to submit initial hiring plans, and quarterly updates to OPM and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) starting in the second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2026. 

“The headcount planning submissions will enable us to have a pan-government view of hiring needs,” wrote Director Kupor. “OPM will use this information to drive more efficiency by centralizing recruiting programs along with shared certificates.”

Potential Senior Executive Cuts

OPM is also telling federal agencies to consider reducing the number of senior executives on staff. 

In a memo, OPM told agencies to submit a workforce assessment detailing current staffing allocations for various senior-level positions, as well as plans to reduce those numbers if applicable. The workforce assessment is due by December 19. 

Agencies are to review the number of Senior Executive Service (SES) members as well as Senior Level (SL) and Scientific/Professional (ST) positions and are told to conduct a “comprehensive assessment of current and prospective executive resources needs to ensure optimal implementation of presidential priorities.”

The memo includes a template that OPM expects agencies to fill out with more details on their projected allocations.