Federal Managers Association

In the News

• The biggest story in the federal workforce cuts isn't how many left, it's who wasn't replaced - July 14, 2026

• The data suggest the workforce reduction reshaped not just the size of government, but the expertise available to carry out its work, one expert argues.

  Ali Akram, Government Executive

  The story of the 2025 federal workforce reduction has been told in headcount. In September 2025 alone, about 121,000 civilian employees left federal service, nearly six times the figure for the same month a year earlier, the bulk of them through a governmentwide deferred resignation program with an end-of-September deadline. The number is large, and the debate about whether the government is now too small or right-sized will continue. But headcount is the wrong number to watch. What determines whether agencies can still do their work is not how many people left. It's who got replaced.

  To read the full article, click here.

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