The Trump administration has begun laying off federal employees, following through on earlier warnings to downsize government operations after more than a week into the ongoing government shutdown.

In a court filing late Friday, government attorneys disclosed that around 4,200 employees across at least seven federal agencies began receiving official Reduction in Force (RIF) notices on the same day. The information was included in a declaration by Stephen Billy, a senior advisor at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), submitted in response to a federal judge’s order in a lawsuit challenging the administration's layoff actions during the shutdown.

News of the layoffs was first publicly confirmed by OMB Director Russell Vought, who posted on social media platform X: “The RIFs have begun.”

While the administration initially released few specifics about what it described as “substantial” workforce reductions, some affected employees began posting layoff notices online. Federal employee unions also reported receiving notifications about upcoming job cuts.

When asked by reporters on Friday how many jobs could be lost, Trump did not provide a specific number. “It’ll be a lot,” he said. “We’ll announce the numbers over the next couple of days, but it'll be a lot of people—all because of the Democrats.”

Despite a 2019 law that mandates back pay for furloughed federal workers, the White House has floated the possibility of denying retroactive pay to some of those affected by the current shutdown.

In his court statement, OMB advisor Billy emphasized that the situation is "fluid and rapidly evolving," noting that the figures provided could change and that additional RIFs may still be on the horizon.