MISSOULA — Thousands of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) employees are losing their jobs — including 360 workers in Montana.
The layoffs are part of a larger push by the Trump administration to shrink the federal workforce and slash government spending.
Other federal agencies including the Department of Energy and the Small Business Administration are planning similar cuts.
The cuts at the USFS will reduce the agency's workforce of around 35,000 employees by about 10%.
The move primarily targets employees still within their probationary period.
Public safety employees within the USFS are exempt and firefighter jobs also appear to be unaffected — but other roles that support wildfire prevention are being cut.
It's still unclear exactly which positions are being eliminated in Montana.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture spokesperson released the following statement to MTN:
“Secretary Rollins fully supports President Trump’s directive to optimize government operations, eliminate inefficiencies, and strengthen USDA’s ability to better serve American farmers, ranchers, loggers and the agriculture community. We have a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of Americans’ hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar is being spent as effectively as possible to serve the people, not the bureaucracy.
As part of this effort, USDA has released individuals in their probationary period of employment. We are confident that talented individuals who have been affected by this change will have many opportunities to contribute to our economy and society in countless ways outside of government."
- Reporting from KTVQ in Billings included in this report.
