Updated October 10, 2025 at 6:20 PM MDT

The Trump administration says "substantial" layoffs of federal workers have begun, appearing to follow through on threats to slash the size of government during the shutdown.

In court filings late Friday, lawyers for the government wrote that an estimated 4,200 employees across seven agencies are receiving reduction-in-force, or RIF, notices starting Oct. 10.

The announcement first came from Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought in a social media post on X that said, "The RIFs have begun."

An OMB spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the reduction-in-force process was underway and was "substantial" but declined to provide details of how many people are affected.

The administration has publicly offered few details on the scope

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