Shutdown Shockwave: 900K Workers Warned – 'A Lot of Those Jobs Will Never Come Back'

Mass layoffs of government workers kicked off Friday, as confirmed by Trump administration budget chief Russell Vought, signaling a seismic shift in Washington’s bloated power structure.

Vought, unapologetic, declared on X,"The RIFs have begun," referring to the Reductions in Force now slashing through federal agencies.

Amid the chaos, roughly 900,000 federal employees remain furloughed without pay, while another 700,000 toil unpaid on essential duties.

But here's the gut punch: over 100,000 more face permanent firing through these RIFs, capping what experts call the largest single-day workforce purge in federal history — building on approximately 75,000 voluntary exits earlier this year.

President Donald Trump, meeting last week with Vought — the mastermind behind Project 2025 — mapped out plans to gut what he calls "political SCAM Democrat Agencies."

Trump, never one to mince words, posted on Truth Social: "I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent. I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DJT."

Congress remains gridlocked, with the shutdown dragging into its second week.

The White House, undeterred, pushes forward with plans to dismantle federal excess.

Reuters reports the Vought meeting will trigger mass layoffs, agency closures, and funding freezes, moves Trump frames not as a crisis but a golden opportunity to align government with conservative priorities.

A budget office spokesperson called the cuts "substantial” but offered no further details.

The Office of Personnel Management warned agencies in September to brace for resignations and reductions, the New York Post reports.

OPM’s January 28, 2025, memo, titled "Fork in the Road," offered federal workers a deal: resign voluntarily by a deadline, keep salary and benefits through September 30, but waive legal rights.

Roughly 75,000 employees took the deal by mid-February, with The Guardian estimating over 100,000 more will exit post-shutdown, marking the largest single-day workforce drop in federal history.

Democrats, crying foul, claim the firings may be illegal but seem rattled now that Trump’s threats are reality.

The President teased the scope of the cuts earlier this week, saying in the Oval Office alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, "I’ll be able to tell you that in four or five days if this keeps going on. If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, urged Democrats to grow a spine, stating at a news conference: "It’s time for them to get a backbone."

Capitol halls sit eerily silent on day ten of the shutdown, with Congress scattered and bipartisan talks nonexistent.

Senate Republicans push for a stopgap bill, but Democrats hold firm, demanding healthcare benefit extensions.

This isn’t your typical shutdown furlough game. Trump’s swinging the axe, and the federal beast is bleeding jobs —permanently.