"Red Light if Fired, Is This Squid Game?"... American Public Officials Getting Fired on Their Way to Work

Trump Administration Launches Massive Federal Workforce Cuts
Health and Human Services Employees Queue for Building Access
"If Your Badge Doesn't Work, You're Fired... It Was No Joke"

U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are conducting massive layoffs of federal government employees. Amid this, a dismissed government worker compared the sudden layoff notification to the 'Squid Game.' According to Yonhap News Agency, citing local Washington D.C. broadcaster 'WTOP' on the 2nd (local time), "The previous morning, in front of the Department of Health and Human Services building, employees lined up for hours to check whether their ID badges would grant them access."

US Department of Health and Human Services employees are waiting outside the building for entry. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

According to Yonhap News Agency, when employees held their ID badges to the access control, a green light meant they could stay, while a red light indicated they were laid off. WTOP reported, "This situation, which happened on April Fools' Day, was no joke," adding, "If their badges did not work, it meant they lost their jobs due to the Trump administration's workforce reduction."

One employee told WTOP, "After standing in line for two hours and holding up my badge, I saw a red light," adding, "It felt like 'Squid Game'." This is a reference to the Netflix drama 'Squid Game,' where participants' lives are at stake. The employee said, "After the red light appeared, when I went back inside to pack my belongings, someone had to accompany me," describing the experience as "humiliating." Another government worker reportedly arrived at work around 5 a.m. the previous day but found their badge did not work at the entrance from the parking lot to the building, learning they had been laid off. This employee expressed anger, saying, "(President Trump and CEO Musk) are torturing federal government employees."

Employees of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are lined up outside the building. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Additionally, Department of Health and Human Services employees stated that they worked in departments addressing community mental health and substance use issues and have saved many lives. One employee said, "What we will soon see is an increase in deaths from drug overdoses, with the most marginalized communities being the hardest hit," adding, "It breaks my heart." Another employee expressed, "It was an honor to serve this country," but lamented, "Being laid off so easily is heartbreaking."

The Trump administration is pursuing large-scale workforce reductions, department consolidations, and abolitions with the goal of streamlining the federal government and cutting expenditures. Through this, they aim to save $1.8 billion annually (approximately 2.6 trillion KRW). As a result, large-scale layoffs reportedly began in earnest the previous day at the Department of Health and Human Services and its affiliated agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of the 82,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, 10,000 are targeted for layoffs, and an additional 10,000 plan to leave their departments through DOGE-led 'voluntary retirement programs' and others.

However, concerns have been raised that the massive reduction of key personnel in food and drug safety and public health sectors could weaken the United States' ability to respond to health emergencies.