Maryland Governor Wes Moore announces hiring freeze, buy-outs amid $2 billion budget cut

MARYLAND (DC News Now) — As federal cuts swept across the nation, residents in the DMV are beginning to see impacts on their own local and state budgets.

On Tuesday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced several changes for state government workers, including a hiring freeze, a voluntary separation program, and consolidations after signing a budget that cuts $2 billion.

In a letter addressed to the public, Moore said these were “unprecedented times” before announcing the largest budget cut in at least 16 years. Moore credited the reduction in funding to decisions made at the federal level that “harm Maryland’s people and the economy.”

Out of the total spending cuts, an estimated $121 million of the reduction is expected to come from personnel cost reductions. In order to achieve the goal, the governor said they are planning to issue a hiring freeze beginning July 1 for currently open positions. A Voluntary Separation Program is also being launched with additional details to be released in the next several weeks. Finally, the governor said leaders are seeking to consolidate facilities without making any staff reductions.

“We are committed to engaging with our public sector unions as we work through these difficult decisions,” the letter reads. “We are moving with care and intentionality to minimize impact on current employees and be transparent throughout the process.”

Maryland House Minority Whip Jesse Pippy said Republicans warned this could happen.

“Less than a week ago, the governor announced that he was spending $400 million on pet projects, throughout the state. And then a couple of days later, we’re now having to, to make tough decisions related to our state’s workforce,” Pippy said.

Patrick Moran, President of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, responded to the news, acknowledging the difficult decisions being made with the budget while simultaneously urging that union benefits not be put on the back burner.

“While it’s clear our state must navigate tough and volatile times, any solutions cannot come at the cost of providing quality state services.

Our union has been in close communication with the Governor’s office and agency leaders and will continue to advocate for the resources state employees need to keep essential state services and our state government running. There’s no denying that any decisions made regarding personnel will also need to contend with the State’s ongoing issues with chronic understaffing, dangerous working conditions, and unsustainable workloads. 

Our union will also continue to advocate for responsible decision-making around both cost-saving and revenue-raising measures that prioritize our state services and the workers who make them happen. That includes eliminating costly contracts, in-sourcing services where needed, addressing other inefficiencies, and closing corporate tax loopholes to raise much-needed state revenues.“

Maryland’s significant budget cut is just one example of the tumultuous position state and local officials succumbed to after the Trump administration issued sweeping federal cuts across the nation.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is under scrutiny for choices made in her proposed budget plan for Fiscal Year 2026. The budget has been received by council members as they work to agree on their deadline.