These 2 Georgia districts hold 40% of state’s federal employees. How many have lost jobs?

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FILE PHOTO: Elon Musk listens to U.S. President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., February 2025.

With increasing reports of Elon Musk’s efforts to slash the federal workforce, officials haven’t been able to clarify how many government employees in Middle Georgia have left or lost their jobs.

Musk, an adviser to President Donald Trump who has been tasked with downsizing the federal government through his Department of Government Efficiency, reportedly sent out emails to federal employees demanding they outline their accomplishments or risk termination.

Trump and Musk have also reportedly threatened to fire probationary workers, which are employees with the federal government who are recent hires or have been recently promoted to a new position. They are put on a “probationary” period that usually lasts one or two years. Federal watchdogs have warned firing these workers may be illegal, media reports say.

Thousands of Middle Georgia residents are employed by various departments in the federal government. Data from the Congressional Research Service shows nearly 32,000 federal employees live in Georgia’s 2nd and 8th districts, which are the U.S. House districts that include Macon, Warner Robins, Perry and Fort Valley.

Those two districts are also home to three military bases — Robins Air Base in Warner Robins, Fort Moore in Columbus and Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta. Together, the two districts account for nearly 40% of Georgia’s 79,686 federal workers.

Those figures do not include federal contractors or uniformed military personnel. 

DOGE’s website does not have information on how many federal workers in Georgia or other states have lost their jobs or voluntarily resigned since the department’s inception in January. It claims to have saved the federal government $65 billion dollars, but media reports have questioned the accuracy of that number.

When asked by The Telegraph, the three military bases in Georgia’s 2nd and 8th districts didn’t say how many employees had been let go or voluntarily resigned as a result of Trump and DOGE. One base did indicate that Air Force employees weren’t being fired.

Robins Air Force Base couldn’t be reached for comment, but a representative with the Air Force said it wasn’t releasing numbers at this time.

Daryl Knee, a representative from Moody Air Force Base, said the base didn’t have specific numbers right now, but that there has been “no direction to relieve Air Force employees at this time.”

“Moody is under guidance that the Pentagon is taking a deliberate, methodical approach to review its workforce and identify positions that may not directly contribute to warfighting success,” Knee said. “The Department of Defense as a whole is re-evaluating our probationary workforce, consistent with the President’s initiative to reform the Federal workforce to maximize efficiency and productivity.”

Fort Moore did not respond to requests for comment. 

The Telegraph has filed multiple requests under the Freedom of Information Act to find more information on federal staff departures, but information hadn’t been provided as of publication.

Elected leaders representing the districts said they weren’t sure how many federal employees, whether it be in the military or in other civil service positions, had lost their jobs.

Sanford Bishop, a Democrat who represents Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, said he asked the Office of Personnel Management to provide the number of firings in Georgia and in his district, but they did not give any numbers, or even confirm that they were tracking it.

“I remain very concerned about what Elon Musk and the administration are doing and am tracking this closely,” Bishop said. “They need to be held accountable. The Constitution requires Congress, not the executive branch, to authorize and fund these jobs.”

A representative for Austin Scott, a Republican who represents Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, said the congressman has not received any “tangible updates” on how many civilian federal employees in the district either opted into Trump’s previous buyout offer, or how many had been let go.

Scott said he has been meeting with leaders at Robins Air Force Base to stay updated on operations and changes.

“Robins AFB is instrumental to our national security, and that is a testament to their hardworking employees and airmen,” Scott said. “I was on base last week and will continue to stay in contact with leadership to make sure we have the resources and manpower to continue the great work they are known and trusted to do.”

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Macon Telegraph.