US Government Shutdown Threatens Thousands of Layoffs, Costs $15 Billion Weekly

October 6, 2025 | 01:56 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A shutdown of the United States government has the potential to cause massive layoffs and loss to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country, amounting to $15 billion (around Rp248 trillion) per week if it continues.

The Director of the White House National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, in an interview with CNN, as quoted by Antara on Sunday, threatened that if President Donald Trump decides that the negotiations have truly reached a dead end, then massive layoffs will begin.

"But I think that everybody is still hopeful that when we get a fresh start at the beginning of the week, that we can get the Democrats to see that it's just common sense to avoid layoffs like that," said Hassett.

However, if the Democratic Party uses a wise approach in the budget approval process in the Senate, then there would be no reason to carry out layoffs, Hassett said.

The fiscal year 2024 ends on September 30. However, the U.S. Congress has not yet reached an agreement on next year's budget. This deadlock is caused by the intense conflict between the Republican and Democratic parties in the Senate, where the Republicans do not have a majority.

President Trump has warned that if the Democratic Party continues to reject the temporary funding bill in the Senate, the Republican Party will use this government shutdown to enhance government efficiency by laying off thousands of employees.

Some U.S. government services are temporarily suspended, and 40 percent of federal employees, about 750,000 people, are expected to be furloughed without pay.

Although budget confrontations are common in U.S. politics, this budget dispute is very tense because President Donald Trump has drastically reduced the size of the national government since taking office. He has indicated that he might use this deadlock to make further budget cuts.

The Democratic Party wants to extend tax credits that will expire, which would make health insurance cheaper for millions of Americans. They also want to cancel the Medicaid cuts made by Trump. This is a government health service program used by millions of elderly people, people with disabilities, and low-income earners.

The Democratic Party also opposes budget cuts for government health agencies.

A temporary bill designed to avoid a government shutdown has been passed in the parliament, but it did not pass in the Senate. Therefore, on Wednesday midnight, the U.S. experienced its first government shutdown in almost seven years.

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