Internal message orders officials to ‘cease offboarding’
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has abruptly paused the termination of certain temporary disaster workers just as a powerful winter storm bears down on the United States.
According to people familiar with the matter, FEMA has halted planned offboarding for a segment of its temporary staff, a move that comes amid already significant headcount losses at the agency and mounting concern about disaster-response capacity.
An internal message sent to FEMA officials this week directed agency leaders to “cease offboarding” specific employees with immediate effect, according to a copy reviewed by Bloomberg News. The email indicated that further guidance would follow but did not specify why the terminations were being put on hold.
The employees affected work within FEMA’s Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employees (CORE), a group hired on fixed-term, one- or multi-year contracts to support disaster response and recovery operations. This cohort effectively functions as a flexible staffing pool that can be scaled up or down as events unfold.
Under the Trump administration, efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce have focused heavily on temporary and probationary personnel, while also encouraging more experienced civil servants to exit through voluntary incentive packages.
Storm threat collides with reduced staffing
The suspension of CORE terminations coincides with forecasts for a sweeping winter storm expected to bring heavy snowfall, ice accumulation and dangerously low temperatures across much of the country. The weather system is likely to trigger power outages, travel disruptions and additional emergency needs, putting more pressure on existing staff and reserve resources.
FEMA has already experienced notable workforce contraction. Between January and November of last year, the agency lost more than 3,700 employees — roughly 14% of its staff — according to recently published federal workforce figures. That level of attrition raises questions for HR and operations leaders about surge capacity, burnout risk and the resilience of critical teams during high-demand periods.
Agency pushes back on narrative of “rescinded” cuts
In a public statement, FEMA said it was following established procedures and had activated its national response center ahead of the storm. The agency also disputed the characterization of its staffing decisions, calling reports that cuts were being rolled back “manufactured drama.”
The legislative branch has also entered the conversation. A Homeland Security appropriations bill passed by the House this week includes nonbinding language urging FEMA to maintain adequate staffing to meet its mandate, specifically referencing reservists and response cadres. Although the measure still requires Senate approval and the language does not carry the force of law, such statements are often interpreted within agencies as indicators of congressional priorities around headcount and readiness.
Separately, Senate Democrats have written to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem requesting a pause on CORE terminations. Their letter reflects growing unease that reducing FEMA’s temporary workforce could undermine national disaster preparedness at a time of increasingly frequent and complex emergencies.
