LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Thousands of federal workers have been losing their jobs across the country cut by the Department of Government Efficiency, some here in Nevada. A former US Department of Agriculture worker shared his story with FOX5.
“This was going to be my last job,” shared Jim Fogelberg. Fogelberg who served 14 years active duty in the Air Force left a job at NDOT he’d been at for years for a similar job with the federal government which allowed him to work from home and grow his federal retirement benefits.
“I love the job but the drive was really getting hard on me. So, when I saw that the USDA was hiring, I thought, well, I’ll give it a shot and see if you know there’s any chance I can squeeze in there because they were offering full remote,” Fogelberg revealed.
As a review appraiser for USDA Rural Development, Fogelberg reviewed things like loans for low-income housing in rural areas but with DOGE cuts, the job came to an end after just three months.
“I got up at 6:00 in the morning on Valentine’s Day, opened up my computer and logged in, and there was an e-mail that basically said, ‘You’re terminated’ and within moments I contacted my boss. He said, ‘We don’t know what’s going. Everybody’s in a panic mode over here’… and as we were talking my federal computer system began to shut down,” Fogelberg recalled. With federal jobs being cut by the thousands, it quickly became evident it was no mistake.
“What is troubling is the methodology involved in this. I would have been very happy with furlough. I think almost everybody I know would have been happy with some furloughs while they then sort things out and decide how to cut back and save money,” Fogelberg explained.
Though he does believe he was wrongfully terminated, with decades of experience as a licensed appraiser Fogelberg is confident he will land on his feet. He immediately began looking for another job and already had job interviews.
Fogelberg did reach out to Senator Catherine Cortez Masto who is trying to get a count of federal employees in Nevada impacted by DOGE cuts. He’s not optimistic anything can be done to get his job back.
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
