Climate Changed
Shrinking EPA Workforce Has Already Reached Reagan-Era Levels
- The agency is now about the same size as it was in 1989
- In the generation since, new and updated laws have blossomed
Scott Pruitt
Photographer: Andrew Harrer/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Retirements and departures from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have shrunk its workforce to levels not seen since the Reagan administration.
As of Jan. 3, the agency employed 14,162 employees, down from about 15,000 people when President Donald Trump took office. If all employees who are eligible to opt to retire by the end of current term in 2021 then the workforce will have shrunk by nearly half.