The Interior Department is set to eliminate over 2,000 jobs, impacting numerous employees from the National Park Service (NPS), as reported recently. According to a court submission, the agency intends to lay off around 2,050 workers across 89 various units.
Rachel Bora, the agency’s chief human capital officer, noted that this layoff plan was established prior to the anticipated government shutdown and isn’t directly linked to any guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or the Office of Personnel Management before the shutdown on October 1.
The court filings indicate that more than 470 positions at the Bureau of Labor Management and 140 at the Fish and Wildlife Service will also be affected. Additionally, over 270 NPS personnel are slated for layoffs, including more than 180 from parks situated in the Southeast, Northeast, and Pacific West regions.
Even with the layoffs, most national parks are expected to stay open, though staff will be limited. For instance, Yosemite National Park in California has already reported that visitor centers, ranger-led programs, and most non-essential maintenance services have been suspended as of Thursday.
On Wednesday, the court granted federal employee unions the ability to issue temporary restraining orders aimed at halting OMB-led layoffs. Judge Susan Illston remarked that the Trump administration appeared to be attempting to “fire top-ranking military personnel during the government shutdown as a means of punishing political opponents.”
Illston, appointed by a previous administration, highlighted that “the harm to federal employees is devastating,” and pointed out that layoffs have serious and immediate social repercussions.
The Hill sought comments from the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO, the original plaintiffs in the case, regarding Interior’s plans. The AFL-CIO also connected The Hill to three other unions, including the Service Employees International Union and the National Federation of Federal Employees.
On October 10, the White House indicated that federal layoffs had commenced, with a submission from the Justice Department revealing that over 4,100 federal workers had already been let go.
Recently, OMB Director Russell Vought mentioned on a program that it is likely more than 10,000 federal employees could be terminated during the government shutdown.
