HUD to Lay Off 400+ Workers Amid Ongoing Shutdown

HUD will lay off over 400 employees in December as the prolonged government shutdown forces deep staffing cuts across key offices.

October 15, 2025

Nina Dale

HUD has issued layoff notices to more than 400 employees, citing the need to align with current budget constraints and administration priorities.
Entire Fair Housing teams in Denver and San Francisco will be eliminated, leaving vast regions without full civil rights enforcement staff.
The move follows a broader wave of federal workforce reductions as the shutdown persists, impacting departments including Treasury, Education, and the EPA.

Key Takeaways

HUD Cuts Deepen as Shutdown Drags On

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is preparing to lay off around 442 employees on December 9, following weeks of furloughs and disruptions caused by the ongoing government shutdown, according to Bisnow.

The layoffs span several divisions, with the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity hit hardest. Entire Fair Housing teams will be eliminated in Denver and San Francisco, leaving large portions of the western US without local staff to investigate housing discrimination complaints.

Breakdown of Job Cuts

According to documents reviewed by Bloomberg, HUD’s planned reductions include:

114 positions in the Fair Housing office
103 positions in Public and Indian Housing
86 positions in the Office of Housing
30 positions in Community Planning and Development

Field offices in major cities such as Atlanta, Miami, Boston, and Philadelphia will also be affected. These layoffs follow an estimated 2,300 voluntary resignations from HUD since January, roughly 23% of the agency’s total workforce.

Legal and Political Fallout

HUD said the layoffs are meant to “align our programs with the administration’s priorities and the appropriations available.” However, internal concerns are mounting.

A whistleblower complaint filed in August claims the agency has significantly weakened civil rights enforcement. One key policy shift deprioritizes “disparate impact” cases, where housing practices harm protected groups even if not overtly discriminatory.

More broadly, HUD’s cuts are part of a federal-wide Reduction in Force (RIF) effort affecting over 4,000 government workers, according to a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO.

What’s Next

There is still a chance the layoffs could be reversed. Earlier this year, HUD issued RIF notices to some employees but did not follow through. However, with the shutdown now entering its third week and no resolution in sight, agencies across the board are bracing for further cuts.

The situation underscores growing risks to affordable housing programs and civil rights enforcement in an increasingly uncertain federal funding environment.