Interior staff braces for impending layoffs

E&E News

08-05-2025

Interior Department employees are preparing for notices of layoffs as soon as next week, as the Trump administration appears to ready further cuts at bureaus and agencies that have already seen hundreds of employees voluntarily leave their posts.
Interior indicated in mid-April that it would pursue staff reductions — continuing efforts initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to slash executive branch agencies — when it issued staffers a list of 'competitive areas' that could be subject to cuts.
Those offices or units where staff will be required to compete to retain jobs include the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Office of Renewable Energy, Interior's civil rights division in Denver, the Bureau of Land Management's communications office at Interior headquarters, and a host of BLM state offices and directorates, according to documents obtained by POLITICO's E&E News last month.
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That notification triggered a countdown for an expected 'reduction in force' (RIF) — the government's name for layoffs — that could be announced to employees as soon as May 15.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, agencies must issue notices of competitive areas at least 90 days before a RIF can take effect.
Employees must then receive at least 60 days' notice before a RIF action can be executed, and that period can be reduced to 30 days with OPM's approval. Interior detailed those same requirements and waivers in a 2011 bulletin on RIFs.
OPM could not confirm before publication whether the Interior Department has sought waivers.
Interior declined to detail how many of its employees — which numbered more than 69,000 individuals in September 2024 — have already accepted early retirement offers or enrolled in the 'deferred resignation program.'
But according to individuals with knowledge of reductions at the Bureau of Reclamation, for example, reductions have reached as many as 25 percent of the agency, or 1,400 people.
Interior spokesperson Elizabeth Peace did not respond to questions about how many department staff will be laid off or from which agencies.
In statement, Peace reiterated that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has assigned reorganization efforts to the assistant secretary for policy, management and budget, who will consolidate certain personnel — such as those in human resources or information technology — at the Washington headquarters. That post is currently filled in an acting capacity by Tyler Hassen, a former oil field services company executive and member of Elon Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
'While we don't comment on personnel matters, the Secretary's Order directs the AS-PMB to ensure that President Donald J. Trump's executive order to restore accountability to the American public is carried out, and through this optimization effort, the Department will continue to prioritize retaining first responders, parks services and energy production employees,' Peace said.
Stephanie Holmes, Interior's acting chief human capital officer, also announced a 'freeze' on employee reassignments or changes to work locations May 2, as the agency prepares for 'potential reductions in force.'
National Park Service
The Trump administration could be preparing to broadly slash the number of National Park Service employees, as the administration tries to hit its targets for shrinking the federal workforce, according to notes from recent NPS meetings viewed by E&E News.
The reductions could arrive 'fast and aggressive,' and would potentially target people at the agency's headquarters and regional offices, according to notes from a regional leadership meeting in early May, which have been shared widely among NPS staff.
The notes were also published by the Resistance Rangers, an anonymous group of current and former park staff opposed to cuts at the agency. They were first reported in an online newsletter by journalist Wes Siler.
The RIFs could reshape NPS institutions like the Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate, which provides administrative, technical and scientific support to parks, and the service's Cultural Resources Stewardship, Partnerships and Science Directorate, which includes its historians, curators and archaeologists, according to the notes.
'Entire programs will be cut,' according to the notes.
The notes also advised staffers to be prepared, because they could be placed on administrative leave soon after being noticed for a RIF.
The National Park Service did not provide comment before publication. Advocates and former park leaders have complained for years the agency is understaffed, especially as tourism at national parks has exploded in recent years.
New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich criticized the Trump administration over suggestions it could reduce the size of the NPS staff, in particular.
'President Trump's decision to fire these workers is a direct assault on our freedom to access the lands that define who we are as a nation — it will shut down trails, close campgrounds, and lock out the very families who rely on these places for connection, adventure, and peace,' Heinrich said in a statement.
NPS has not yet hit the level of voluntary reductions that Interior is seeking, according to notes from an April 30 meeting with human resources staff at Interior headquarters that were viewed by E&E News.
NPS published frequently asked questions about RIFs to its internal messaging website Sharepoint on Wednesday, but it provided little detail on the agency's plans.
The FAQ did not confirm that RIFs were imminent. But it said if there is a layoff, affected employees would be notified in writing. The FAQ also warned staffers to read their notices to the end, because some workers could be reassigned to new duties rather than dismissed.
The FAQ also noted that NPS employees who have been moved within Interior as part of a recent reorganization could still be laid off in a reduction in force.
Due to the Trump administration's two deferred resignation offers — in which staffers who committed to quitting the agency were placed on administrative leave and promised pay through September — and voluntary retirements, many park leadership positions are vacated across the agency.
Chuck Sams, who served as National Park Service director during the Biden administration, said by his estimate the agency appears to have lost roughly 13 percent of its workforce already, before the layoffs begin.
'That is a very significant blow to parks and to the American people,' he said.
Bureau of Land Management
Employees at BLM have also been bracing for weeks for potential layoffs through the RIF process.
BLM and other Interior staffers were directed last month to update their resumes and to ensure individual personnel data on their specific positions, length of service and any military service or awards is up to date.
BLM staffers who had been temporarily reassigned on 'detail' to a vacant post 'have been pulled back to their primary job,' in part to comply with Burgum's reorganization and consolidation plan, which will include merging various bureau positions under the Interior Department, according to one senior BLM official who was granted anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter.
'When that dust settles,' the official said, they have been told that the agency will reevaluate things to 'see what's left for a RIF.'
Meanwhile, BLM and other Interior staffers say they are not being told much about what's set to happen.
'At this point, I see the rumors but nothing definite yet,' said one Interior official granted anonymity so they could talk freely.