White House says substantial US government job cuts have begun

By Ahmed Aboulenein, Andy Sullivan and Nathan Layne

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House said on Friday that it had begun substantial layoffs across the U.S. government, as President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to cut the federal workforce during the government shutdown.

Job cuts were underway at the Treasury Department and the U.S. health agency, spokespeople said, but the total extent of the layoffs was not immediately clear. Roughly 300,000 federal civilian workers will leave their jobs this year due to a downsizing campaign initiated earlier this year by Trump.

“The RIFs have begun,” White House budget director Russell Vought wrote on social media, referring to so-called reductions in force. A spokesperson for the budget office characterized the cuts as “substantial,”