White House announces federal worker layoffs as shutdown nears third week

AFL-CIO fights issue in court as union leader warns of devastating effects' for Americans

The White House announced layoffs of federal workers on Friday, making good on a threat it had made in response to the US government shutdown, which now appears set to stretch into a third straight week.

Russell Vought, the director of the White House office of management and budget, wrote on social media that RIFs have begun", referring to the government's reduction-in-force procedure to let employees go.