President Javier Milei’s government says that almost 48,000 public sector workers have been let go in Argentina since his administration took office 17 months ago.
Overall, staffing numbers have been cut by 9.6 percent as part of Milei’s “chainsaw” austerity policy, one of his flagship approaches to government.
This has resulted in annual savings of around US$1.885 billion, claimed a report by the Deregulation & State Transformation Ministry published this week. Some US$942 million was down to not paying salaries, with a similar amount attributed to “workplace infrastructure costs.”
It is unclear if that figure includes termination costs for laid-off workers.
According to the report, filed by the Ministry’s impact evaluation unit, 47,925 jobs have been removed from the state payroll between December 2023, Milei’s first month in office, and April 2025.
Breaking down the figures, the largest reductions were seen in the National Public Administration (APN) and at state-owned enterprises, registering drops of 13.7 percent and 16.4 percent respectively.
Permanent and temporary staff fell by eight percent, with individuals employed under the Framework Law (Law 25.164, legislation written specifically for the hiring state workers) down 20 percent and ‘monotributista’ freelancers slashed 55.2 percent.
The Deregulation & State Transformation Ministry said the figures “reflect the government’s commitment to reducing public expenditure and its determination to deliver on promises of efficiency and austerity in public administration.”
The portfolio, led by Federico Sturzenegger, said Milei’s chainsaw approach “will be intensified this year with further staff reductions and the elimination of departments that do not serve an essential purpose.”
Any further lay-offs are likely to be met with opposition from public-sector employees, many of whom have taken to the streets this year to protest against austerity measures.
Trade unions have staged a string of general strikes since Milei, a self-described “anarcho-capitalist” libertarian economist, came to power in December 2023.
Milei came to power vowing to fix Argentina's perennially crisis-hit economy by slashing public spending and through deregulation.
Last year, the country recorded its first budget surplus in a decade and runaway inflation has dropped dramatically, but purchasing power, employment and consumer spending have fallen.
– TIMES/AFP/NA
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