The state of Wisconsin lost 2,400 federal workers due to Department of Government Efficiency initiative layoffs, firings, retirements or those who left the federal government of their own accord since November 2024, according to a Wisconsin Public Radio report.
An estimated 317,000 federal employees are gone, with about 18,000 civilian federal workers from Wisconsin. This excludes workers with the U.S. Postal Service. As of November, overall federal jobs in Wisconsin fell from 31,300 to 28,900.
Many layoffs came thanks to DOGE. Initially launched to reduce government spending, DOGE failed in that venture, as a New York Times analysis found many of DOGE’s savings claims were inaccurate. Federal spending increased in 2025, from $6.95 trillion to more than $7 trillion.
