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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Budget cutting in Indonesia has impacted the plans for mass layoffs in several ministries and institutions (K/L). For example, the Radio Republik Indonesia Public Broadcasting Institution (LPP RRI) had previously announced it would terminate the employment of several contributors and contract partners.
Aside from Indonesia, there are several countries also targeting layoffs of government employees, or known as civil servants, as a measure of budget savings. Here are the countries:
1. United States
USA Today reported on Saturday, February 15, 2025 that the government of United States President Donald Trump had dismissed over 10,000 federal employees from various institutions. This mass layoff is part of a large-scale reduction in the government workforce and efforts to continuously cut agency budgets.
Previously, on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, Trump had signed an executive order directing significant staff reductions. The order instructed the heads of federal departments and institutions to carry out massive workforce reductions.
In addition, about 75,000 workers accepted voluntary buyout offers from Donald Trump. The layoffs accounted for nearly 4 percent of the 2.3 million US federal government employees.
2. Vietnam
The Vietnam National Assembly approved a bureaucratic reform plan that will cut up to one-fifth of government agencies on Tuesday, February 18, 2025. The step was taken as an effort to save costs and improve administrative efficiency.
The number of ministries will be reduced to 14, from the previous 18, and will begin operating on Saturday, March 1, 2025. Over 97 percent of the parliament members present at the meeting agreed to the plan.
On the previous Tuesday, February 11, 2025, the Vietnam National Assembly also passed a government organization law. The regulation paved the way for plans to lay off 15 to 20 percent of civil servants, which also includes workers in four institutions and five national television channels.
"The step will not only save money for the state budget, but more importantly, improve the system's efficiency," said the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party in Vietnam, To Lam, as quoted by Reuters.
3. Argentina
Quoting Buenos Aires Herald, the Argentine Ministry of Health announced it would not renew contracts for 1,400 workers on Wednesday, January 15, 2025. In its announcement, the local Ministry of Health described the layoffs as an optimization of resources that would affect the national hospitals' performance.
It is worth noting that this is not the first reduction carried out by the government of President Javier Milei in the health sector. In 2024, 120 workers at the Posadas National Hospital were forced to lose their jobs.
Some workers have also been informed of upcoming layoffs. 130 employees at the Baldomero Sommer National Hospital, located in Buenos Aires Province, received the news.
"The notice has come in now. This is a bloodbath," said the representative of the Mental Health Hospital Workers' Union Laura Bonaparte, Leonardo Fernandez on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
President Javier Milei also "celebrated" the layoffs with his characteristic slogan, Afuera (Spanish: out). "We continue to move forward with the chainsaw. Over," wrote Milei.
The term "chainsaw" is a flashback to a campaign demonstration tool used by Milei to discuss budget cuts. The term "chainsaw" was used as an approach in budget saving regulations in Argentina.
4. Pakistan
Citing livemint.com, Pakistan has decided to eliminate 60 percent of jobs to streamline the size of institutions and reduce federal government expenses amid the financial crisis in 2025. The Pakistani government also plans to transfer some hospitals to provincial governments.
"The federal government has decided to reduce the number of affiliate institutions by half, eliminating 150,000 jobs," reported the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), quoting a statement from Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
The Pakistani government has taken large-scale budget cutting measures with the aim of rationalizing expenses and improving performance. The initiative was launched in mid-2024 by a committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Adil Al Hasan contributed to the writing of this article.
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