ST. LOUIS – As President Donald Trump’s administration intensifies efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, thousands of federal employees across the country have been laid off or offered buyouts, posing a growing challenge for Missouri and Illinois.
Trump’s Executive Order 14210, Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, outlines a reform of the federal workforce. It warns agencies across the country to prepare for large-scale layoffs and prioritizes offices with functions not required by statute or law.
The order includes all diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, along with any programs, components or operations suspended or closed by the Trump administration. It also applies to employees not designated as essential in contingency plans, with exceptions for public safety, immigration enforcement and law enforcement functions.
These efforts could possibly affect more than 200,000 federal workers, though the exact number is unknown.
In the St. Louis area, FOX 2 has also learned that some employees with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency were offered buyouts, while the DOGE initiative says it has terminated leases or contracts of at least three federal agencies in the region.
How many federal employees are there in Missouri?
According to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, there were 56,600 federal employees in Missouri as of January 2024.
According to a Congressional Research Service report, the federal civilian workforce in Missouri consisted of 37,574 employees as of March 2024. That was the 17th most among all U.S. states.
How many federal employees are there in Illinois?
According to a February 2025 news release from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, there are around 81,300 federal employees in Illinois.
According to a Congressional Research Service report, the federal civilian workforce in Illinois consisted of 44,784 employees as of March 2024. That was the 13th most among all U.S. states.
What’s next?
Tens of thousands of federal workers have reportedly departed their jobs since the executive order, while a memo issued Wednesday to federal agency leaders provided further guidance on conducting workforce reductions.
The Internal Revenue Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Park Service are among agencies that have already dealt with effects from workforce cuts. It remains to be see how much deeper the federal workforce reductions could go.