Washington: The US Trump administration said it has started on Friday laying off federal workers, as the government shutdown battle continues for the 10th executive day.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced on social media that "The RIFs have begun." The administration had previously warned of using the government shutdown to implement RIFs, which stands for "reduction in force," as a strategy to lay off thousands of federal employees.
An OMB spokesperson confirmed that the layoffs had commenced and described them as "substantial," although no specific number of employees set to be fired was provided. The American Federation of Government Employees union has condemned the planned firings, urging for an end to the ongoing shutdown.
The government shutdown began ten days ago following a failure by lawmakers to reach an agreement on a funding measure necessary to keep the government operational.