Washington: Mass layoffs have begun in the U.S. as part of cost-cutting measures by President Donald Trump and his advisor, DOJ Chief Elon Musk. The Trump administration had already issued voluntary retirement orders for 75,000 employees. Now, more than 9,500 workers across various agencies have been laid off. Those affected include employees handling federal land affairs, military care workers, and staff from Interior, Energy, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Health & Human Services departments.

Elon Musk has already stated that it is time for the U.S. to eliminate federal agencies. He emphasized that restructuring government operations is necessary, and mass closures of agencies are unavoidable to cut wasteful expenses and improve efficiency. As part of this, Musk ordered the downsizing of the federal workforce by terminating probationary employees (those with less than a year of experience). Agencies have been instructed to remove all probationary employees. However, an executive order has exempted law enforcement, national security, and immigration departments from these layoffs.

Excluding postal services, the U.S. has nearly 2.3 million federal employees working in various agencies, with security-related agencies making up a significant portion. However, millions of people across the U.S. are engaged in jobs such as veteran healthcare, agriculture supervision, and government bill payments. To reduce the number of federal employees, the Trump administration had introduced a buyout package, offering eight months' salary to those who voluntarily resigned by February 6. However, a federal court judge blocked this buyout offer, dealing a setback to Trump's plans.