As federal employees lose jobs, ripple effects worry many

ATLANTA — Thousands of people form dozens of agencies work in the Sam Nunn Federal Building in downtown Atlanta.

They are among those that could get laid off due to the shutdown.

So far, the Department of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development and Department of Education expect to lose staff.

Local teachers are among those concerned about the ripple effect.

“Those federal employees do a lot of work that trickles down to the locals and the states. Without that work, we don’t get the funding that we need,” said Deborah Jones.

Jones is a DeKalb County teacher waiting to find out which divisions of the Department of Education will experience cuts.

“We’re already behind. We’re working from the back. We’re trying to come forward after COVID, and the more they take from us, the less we have to make sure our children are getting what they need,” said Jones.

Health and Human Services said employees across multiple divisions will get laid off due to the shutdown.

In a statement to Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco, a spokesperson wrote: “HHS employees across multiple divisions have received reduction-in-force notices as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown. HHS under the Biden administration became a bloated bureaucracy, growing its budget by 38% and its workforce by 17%. All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated non-essential by their respective divisions. HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”

Yolanda Jones has worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That agency operates under HHS.

She received a partial paycheck Friday but will not get paid again until the shutdown ends. That’s if backpay is approved.

“This whole year has been really hard for CDC. We’ve seen thousands of our employees terminated without cause. We’ve been attacked,” said Jacobs. “A gunman attacked our agency.”

Department of Homeland Security said its cyber security division will experience reduction in force notices. That division gives states funding and free tools to prevent hacking.

“RIFs will be occurring at CISA. During the last administration CISA was focused on censorship, branding and electioneering. This is part of getting CISA back on mission,” said a DHS spokesperson.

A Housing and Urban Development spokesperson said, “HUD is implementing a reduction in force to align our programs with the Administration’s priorities and the appropriations available to the department.”

That’s another concern for teachers like Jones.

“Our children will be left struggling,” said Jones.

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