Census Staff Laid Off Due to Government Shutdown

Around a hundred employees of the U.S. Census Bureau are to be laid off from early December, as a result of the ongoing federal government shutdown and subsequent lack of funds, according to reports on news service Bloomberg.

The staff, located at the Bureau's call center in Tucson, AZ, received a 'reduction-in-force' (RIF) layoff notice earlier this month and are among c.300 cut by the Bureau's parent agency, the Department of Commerce; and a total of c.4,100 federal employees across all departments. A court hearing challenging the lay-offs is scheduled for tomorrow (15th October).

Johnny Zuagar, President of the American Federation of Government Employees Council 241, stated, 'These are good people that are being caught up in a situation they have nothing to do with. We hope this will be rescinded once funding is restored.' Zuagar said the Bureau has lost around 1,500 workers since January as part of the deferred resignation program, a Department of Government Efficiency initiative which incentivized staff to resign.

The Bureau, which three weeks ago got a new Director, George Cook, has also recently terminated a number of federal advisory bodies, as part of President Trump's drive to 'reduce the federal bureaucracy.'

The Bureau's home page is at www.census.gov .