Latest news with #federallayoffs
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump awards Elon Musk a golden key for his DOGE work as he gives Musk an Oval Office sendoff
President Donald Trump gives tech billionaire Elon Musk a gold-colored key for his work establishing the "Department of Government Efficiency," which sought to layoff federal workers and close government agencies to achieve cost savings.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Judge puts temporary pause on Trump's mass layoffs at government agencies
A federal judge on Friday issued a temporary pause on the Trump administration's plans to restructure various government agencies and cut tens of thousands of federal workers because the government overhaul was not authorized by Congress. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston put a 14-day pause on the mass layoffs, siding with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments after they filed a lawsuit on April 28. Illston said Trump may broadly restructure federal agencies, but only in "lawful ways" with approval from Congress. "The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch," Illston said. "Many presidents have sought this cooperation before; many iterations of Congress have provided it." Federal Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Dismantling 3 Agencies "Nothing prevents the President from requesting this cooperation—as he did in his prior term of office," the judge continued. "Indeed, the Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime." Read On The Fox News App Illston's ruling was the broadest of its kind against administration efforts to overhaul the federal government, which have been led by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. In February, Trump directed agencies to work with DOGE to identify targets for mass layoffs as part of the administration's plans to restructure the government. Federal Judge Orders Halt To Trump Admin's Cfpb Terminations The president instructed agencies to eliminate duplicate roles, unnecessary management layers and non-critical jobs, as well as to automate routine tasks, close regional field offices and reduce the use of outside contractors. The group of plaintiffs said the administration's "unlawful attempt to reorganize the federal government has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation." "Each of us represents communities deeply invested in the efficiency of the federal government – laying off federal employees and reorganizing government functions haphazardly does not achieve that," the groups said in a statement. Illston scheduled a hearing for May 22 for a potential longer preliminary injunction. She said plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm without the temporary restraining order, which she said preserves the status quo. The judge said the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of some of their claims. They accuse Trump of exceeding his authority and say that DOGE, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management exceeded their authority and violated administrative law. "The Court here is not considering the potential loss of income of one individual employee, but the widespread termination of salaries and benefits for individuals, families, and communities," Illston wrote. Reuters contributed to this article source: Judge puts temporary pause on Trump's mass layoffs at government agencies
Fox News
10-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Judge puts temporary pause on Trump's mass layoffs at government agencies
A federal judge on Friday issued a temporary pause on the Trump administration's plans to restructure various government agencies and cut tens of thousands of federal workers because the government overhaul was not authorized by Congress. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston put a 14-day pause on the mass layoffs, siding with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments after they filed a lawsuit on April 28. Illston said Trump may broadly restructure federal agencies, but only in "lawful ways" with approval from Congress. "The President has the authority to seek changes to executive branch agencies, but he must do so in lawful ways and, in the case of large-scale reorganizations, with the cooperation of the legislative branch," Illston said. "Many presidents have sought this cooperation before; many iterations of Congress have provided it." "Nothing prevents the President from requesting this cooperation—as he did in his prior term of office," the judge continued. "Indeed, the Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime." Illston's ruling was the broadest of its kind against administration efforts to overhaul the federal government, which have been led by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. In February, Trump directed agencies to work with DOGE to identify targets for mass layoffs as part of the administration's plans to restructure the government. The president instructed agencies to eliminate duplicate roles, unnecessary management layers and non-critical jobs, as well as to automate routine tasks, close regional field offices and reduce the use of outside contractors. The group of plaintiffs said the administration's "unlawful attempt to reorganize the federal government has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation." "Each of us represents communities deeply invested in the efficiency of the federal government – laying off federal employees and reorganizing government functions haphazardly does not achieve that," the groups said in a statement. Illston scheduled a hearing for May 22 for a potential longer preliminary injunction. She said plaintiffs are likely to suffer irreparable harm without the temporary restraining order, which she said preserves the status quo. The judge said the plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of some of their claims. They accuse Trump of exceeding his authority and say that DOGE, the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management exceeded their authority and violated administrative law. "The Court here is not considering the potential loss of income of one individual employee, but the widespread termination of salaries and benefits for individuals, families, and communities," Illston wrote.
The Independent
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
DOGE plans to roll out new software to speed up job cuts even as Elon Musk steps back
Elon Musk 's Department of Government Efficiency is poised to roll out special software to speed up sweeping federal layoffs, as the billionaire prepares to step back from the agency. The software, known as AutoRIF, is an updated version of a decades-old Pentagon program – though it has been used very little in recent years. The name AutoRIF comes from "Reduction in Force," a term used to describe mass layoffs, according to the U.S. Office Of Personnel Management. Multiple sources confirmed to Reuters that under direction from Musk and DOGE officials, software developers from the OPM have now created a more user-friendly web-based version over the past few months. The new version provides targets for layoffs much more quickly than the current manual process, which is labor-intensive, the sources said. OPM will lead demonstrations and user testing will begin in the coming weeks, one of the sources told Reuters. Wired previously reported on the revamp of the software. The update has not been publicly confirmed by DOGE. Currently, most federal RIFs are done manually, with human resource employees having to work on spreadsheets containing data on employee seniority, veteran status and performance, sources told Reuters. DOGE is reportedly planning to roll out AutoRIF in line with huge cuts at federal agencies including the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is set to eliminate some 80,000 jobs. The Internal Revenue Service has said it wants to slash its payrolls by 40 percent, according to media reports. The tool will allow agencies "to remove a massive number of federal employees from their positions," if it works, Nick Bednar, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota told Reuters. "What DOGE has started is going to continue without Elon Musk," he said. News of the layoff streamlining software comes after around 260,000 government workers already have accepted buyouts, early retirement or been laid off since Trump returned to the White House in January. The process has been controversial after some workers from key agencies were mistakenly fired and had to be rehired. At the same time, despite being very close to Trump and a key figure in the administration, Musk announced last month he would be stepping back from the agency to focus more on Tesla and his other companies.
