Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s administration will offer a voluntary buyout program, implement a hiring freeze for state employees and reduce the number of positions in the budget, according to an internal letter that Moore sent to thousands of state employees and that The Baltimore Sun reviewed Tuesday.

The letter suggests the efforts aim to fulfill a goal that lawmakers worked into the cash-strapped state budget this year — to save $121 million in personnel costs by reducing some positions without forgoing raises for most state employees. They also represent a shift in approach for Moore, a Democrat who entered office in 2023 promising to fill thousands of positions left vacant by his predecessor.

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

Administration officials said essential positions in law enforcement, health care and more will be exempt from the hiring freeze that could last the entire fiscal year that begins on July 1. The details for the “voluntary separation program,” meanwhile, were still being sorted out but will be based on previous similar programs in 2011 and 2015, officials said. In 2015, employees were given three weeks to accept $15,000 plus $200 for every year of service if they left their job.

Despite the cost-cutting measures, Moore is still prioritizing hiring workers who were laid off or left their roles with the federal government since President Donald Trump took office in January, officials said. The widespread federal layoffs stand to impact Maryland more than other states because of the state’s proximity to Washington, D.C. and the agencies that are based in the state, and Moore has launched initiatives to get workers in both public and private jobs.

‘Should have happened months ago’

Republican lawmakers who have called for more drastic personnel cuts criticized the timing of Moore’s announcement, while key Democratic lawmakers said the savings, when combined with billions of dollars worth of other spending cuts this year, put the state on better financial footing.

Republican lawmakers pointed to their public statements throughout the 90-day session, which ended in April, that called for actions like a hiring freeze. Sen. J.B. Jennings, a Republican who represents Baltimore and Harford counties, argued then that the state did not “necessarily need to hire” positions that were in Moore’s original budget proposal because lawmakers were trying to resolve a roughly $3 billion deficit at the same time.

“Back in February, I questioned the wisdom of expanding state government while facing a $2.8 billion deficit. I said then, and I repeat now: when you’re in a hole, you need to stop digging,” Jennings said in a statement Tuesday. “The decision to finally enact a hiring freeze and reduce vacant positions is the right one — but it should have happened months ago, before the situation became more urgent.”

House Minority Leader Jason Buckel, an Allegheny County Republican, told The Sun the timing of Moore’s announcement “reflects the sad reality that people just want to play politics with things that are really obvious facts.”

Sen. Guy Guzzone, a Howard County Democrat who leads the Senate’s budget process, said the governor’s latest move is “logical and appropriate.”

Though the state budget called for personnel savings, including a reduction in some positions, it did not specifically prescribe the hiring freeze or separation program that Moore announced Tuesday.

“We were able to make sure that vital services were funded like education, health care and transportation while finding these vacancy savings,” said Del. Ben Barnes, a Prince George’s County Democrat who is the state House’s top budget negotiator. “We were realistic about some of the challenges and had to make some tough decisions, and these vacancy savings were part of that.”

Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones declined to comment on the announcement, though Democrats in her chamber and in the Senate pushed back this year on efforts to further reduce the size of the federal government or eliminate planned raises for union employees.

No specific number

Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Maryland Council 3, said his union has been in “close communication” with Moore’s office about the decision. The union represents more than 51,000 workers across Maryland, including over 26,000 state employees.

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

Moore administration officials, who spoke on background Tuesday, said there was currently no specific number of employees they anticipated or wanted to see accept the separation agreement. They also said state agencies will work to identify vacant positions that can be defunded, though they have not set specific goals for that strategy either. Eligibility requirements and other details associated with the separation program will be determined in the coming weeks, they said.

Maryland is home to more than 160,000 federal employees. Toward the start of Trump’s tenure, Moore signed multiple memoranda directing the state departments of Transportation, Budget and Education to connect impacted workers with state jobs.

During a speech Tuesday at the Maryland Municipal League conference in Ocean City, Moore again addressed the firing of thousands of government employees that the Trump administration has conducted in the name of reducing “waste, fraud and abuse” within the federal government.

Moore said the state has assisted federal employees who have lost their jobs, and he highlighted municipalities in some of the most affected areas that have hosted job fairs and career training opportunities. When addressing the issue of connecting affected employees with jobs, the governor pointed largely to the private sector.

“If there is a public servant who was recently laid off from the federal government who has an interest and a skillset, let’s get them certified, let’s get them qualified, let’s get them into hospitals, let’s get them into classrooms, let’s get them into hospitals,” Moore said. “Let’s make sure they continue serving, and make sure they continue serving people they love and admire in the state of Maryland, and let’s do it fast.”

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