Federal layoffs hit Philadelphia. Here’s what happened next for workers.

A former IRS employee in King of Prussia, shortly after getting laid off in February, joined a WhatsApp group of other fired federal workers across the U.S. He’s since watched the group grow from around 200 users to roughly 1,000.

“You learn a lot of things” from the group chat, said the worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he hopes to return to his job. He noted that users are sharing information about how to access retirement funds, updates on federal legal cases, and job openings.

In recent months, federal workers have been laid off from various agencies across the country as President Donald Trump’s administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have set out to shrink the federal workforce and cut government spending.

“There are people who haven’t had paychecks and have had to talk with their leaseholders, their mortgage companies, their car note holders,” said Alex Jay Berman, executive vice president of the union chapter that represents IRS workers in Philadelphia.

As of March 24, roughly 1,000 to 1,400 federal workers across Pennsylvania had been fired or put on administrative leave since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, said Philip Glover, national vice president of AFGE District 3. Determining the exact number is tricky — some workers have been reinstated but placed on leave, said Glover.

“It’s very chaotic. It’s very hard to track. For the union, it’s really hard to track people coming and going,” he said.

As some federal workers navigate the uncertainty of being without a job or on leave, organized efforts have been sprouting up in Philadelphia to help these workers find their next position. Meanwhile, unemployment claims have risen in Pennsylvania in recent weeks, and more cuts are expected in the future.

Some probationary workers who were originally laid off have been reinstated, after judges ordered their return. Berman, of the Philly IRS union, described one judge’s order on March 13 as a “first of several triumphs” but cautioned that damage has already been done.

“And there’s the human cost of that as well. There’s people having anxiety attacks, panic attacks,” Berman said.

And the shrinking of the federal workforce is expected to continue.

The Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to submit plans for a reduction in force by March 13. They were instructed to achieve “a significant reduction in the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) positions by eliminating positions that are not required.” Officials at the White House are now reviewing the plans, Reuters reports. The Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that 10,000 of its 84,000 employees will be terminated.

“We know that this is not the end of the fight,” said Berman in mid-March.

Glover, of AFGE, said on Monday that he is waiting to see how those reduction in force plans affect his members.

“We don’t know what that’s gonna look like,” he said. “We’re waiting on those to hit.”

As he continued to connect with the WhatsApp group, the former King of Prussia IRS worker applied for unemployment shortly after his layoff. A couple of weeks later he was still waiting on his first check.

“This is really depressing,” he said.

Some states are seeing a “sudden surge of unemployment,” according to a legal complaint filed in early March, which includes New Jersey.

Pennsylvania is not part of the complaint, but recent data show an increase in federal workers filing unemployment claims, compared to this time last year. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry said total claims in Pennsylvania were “slightly elevated.”

Some federal employees affected by the DOGE overhaul are on paid leave, so they wouldn’t appear in the state’s unemployment claims.

Renata Thakurdyal, 34, was put on administrative leave from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in early February. Her job is based in Washington, but she worked remotely from Northwest Philadelphia.

She anticipates being laid off eventually but said there has been “zero communication coming from EPA,” since she got placed on paid leave. That was about two months ago.

Thakurdyal, a single parent, is steering clear of federal positions in her job search.

“You sort of have to reinvent yourself,” said Thakurdyal. “When you’re sort of mission-driven, and then you leave the federal government, you’re looking at a significant pay cut, especially as a woman of color.”

The King of Prussia IRS employee learned he is being reinstated this month and placed on leave. He doesn’t know how long that will last, and expects he could be terminated in the future. He loves his IRS job and hopes to be able to do the work again.

“I’m sitting home, not doing any work, and I’m gonna get paid,” he said, “How is that efficient?”

Trevor Otto, 41, a lease contracting officer at the General Services Administration in Philadelphia, remembers getting a text from a colleague in early March informing him “we’re all fired.”

An email then confirmed his four-person division was being terminated, he said. As of March 21, Otto was still waiting for an official termination notice. He is on administrative leave, continues to receive a paycheck, and said he feels like he’s in “limbo.”

Otto is a disabled veteran, and his wife is a caregiver for her parents. They depend on his salary to support themselves and their two young children. He’s appealing his termination to the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, arguing that he should not have been let go given his status.

“If there’s gonna be a last man standing, it would be Trevor,” said Otto’s lawyer, Aaron L. Peskin.

Even if Otto gets his job back, he said, he worries there won’t “be much of an agency to come back to.”

Neighbors and friends have stepped up to help job-hunting federal workers in South Philadelphia.

In early March, Charlie Elison helped host a career workshop at the Queen Memorial Library for federal employees recently fired or expecting to be fired soon.

They offered attendees free professional headshots, tips for updating their resumes, and an opportunity to network. It was also a place for people to vent, said Elison, a military service member who works in government.

The two sessions brought in nearly 30 people, including public health, commerce, and finance professionals.

“These are folks who, throughout their careers, have passed up other — probably higher paying — jobs in the private sector because they’re very passionate public servants,” Elison said. “That was what was most depressing … most heartbreaking.”

City and state officials have also launched initiatives to support federal workers.

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on March 5 telling state agencies to give preference to federal employees in hiring. And on March 20, the city hosted a networking event for federal employees interested in working for Philadelphia.

“The city of Philadelphia [has] a great deal of respect for your institutional knowledge and your subject matter expertise,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, addressing a packed room on the 33rd floor of One Liberty Place.

Elison and other organizers behind the South Philly event have partnered with the Free Library to host a federal workers transition workshop series in early April given the response of the first event.

“No one really wants to move, but we’ve got to put food on the table, we’ve got to feed our families, we’ve got to take care of ourselves,” Elison said. “I really worry we’re facing some serious brain drain from the city if we don’t find some ways to keep this talent.”