WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has begun issuing formal reduction-in-force notices to employees as the federal banking regulator moves ahead with another round of workforce cuts after already shedding more than 20% of its staff.
The National Treasury Employees Union told Bloomberg Law that the OCC began sending the RIF notices Wednesday. The number of employees receiving notices and the OCC divisions affected were not immediately clear, Bloomberg Law reported.
The notices mark the latest stage of a months-long effort to shrink the agency responsible for supervising national banks and federal savings associations. As the CU Daily has reported, the National Credit Union Administration reduced its workforce by 20% during 2025.
The OCC, headed by Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould, supervises more than 1,000 national banks, federal savings associations and federal branches and agencies of foreign banks operating in the United States, according to the agency.
The latest layoffs follow an additional voluntary buyout program the OCC announced internally in June. Bloomberg Law reported at the time that the OCC told employees it would offer another round of its “voluntary transition program” in an effort to reduce the number of workers who would ultimately have to be terminated through a RIF. The agency said the planned cuts followed a review of its operations.
It was not immediately known how many employees accepted the latest buyout offer, Bloomberg Law reported Thursday.
Workforce Already Sharply Reduced
The latest reductions come after a substantial contraction in OCC employment.
Office of Personnel Management data compiled by USAFacts showed the OCC had 2,643 employees as of May 2026, down 27% from 2012.
The agency reported 3,630 full-time employees in 2024, according to Reuters, meaning the OCC’s workforce has fallen substantially since the Trump administration began its broader effort to reduce the size of the federal government.
In February 2025, the OCC notified 76 probationary employees that they were being terminated. Those dismissals were part of a wider administration effort affecting probationary workers throughout the federal government, Reuters reported at the time.
The reductions accelerated through voluntary departure programs. Bloomberg Law reported in May 2025 that roughly 800 OCC employees — about one-quarter of the agency’s workforce at the time — had applied for an OCC voluntary transition program. About 100 additional employees applied for a separate Treasury Department deferred resignation program. Not everyone who applied was necessarily approved to leave.
Employees in mission-critical positions, including bank examination teams, could be denied participation in the voluntary separation program, according to an OCC email obtained by Bloomberg Law. The Office of Management, Office of Minority and Women Inclusion and units responsible for economic, policy and risk analysis were among those targeted for the largest reductions at that time.
Treasury Had Anticipated Lower Staffing
Treasury Department budget documents show that further reductions in OCC employment had been anticipated.
The OCC’s fiscal 2026 budget justification said its staffing estimates assumed reductions resulting from the agency’s voluntary transition program and two rounds of Treasury’s deferred resignation program. The document cautioned that the ultimate staffing reductions could change because employee departures under those programs had not yet been finalized.
The OCC is unusual among federal agencies because Congress has given the comptroller authority to determine the number and compensation of OCC employees. The agency also is funded primarily through assessments and fees imposed on the financial institutions it supervises rather than through congressional appropriations.
What a RIF Means
A reduction in force is the federal government’s formal process for eliminating positions or reducing staffing. OPM says RIF rules determine whether affected employees retain their existing positions or have rights to other positions when an agency abolishes jobs.
The rules can also provide affected employees with eligibility for benefits including hiring priority, severance pay and, in some circumstances, discontinued-service retirement.
New OPM regulations governing reductions in force took effect Sept. 2. Under the revised rules, employees receiving RIF notices on or after that date generally may challenge covered RIF actions through OPM rather than the Merit Systems Protection Board. Appeals generally must be filed within 30 calendar days after the RIF action takes effect.
The National Treasury Employees Union had been warning about potential OCC layoffs since early 2025. In a March 2025 letter to OCC officials, the union said a RIF could damage both employees and the public by reducing resources available to ensure banks operate safely, provide access to financial services and treat customers fairly.
The OCC has continued to carry out its supervisory and regulatory agenda while reducing staffing. Gould, who was sworn in as comptroller in July 2025, has emphasized reducing regulatory burdens, encouraging new bank formation and focusing supervision on material financial risks.
The OCC had not publicly disclosed the number of employees receiving the new RIF notices as of Thursday afternoon.
