DOGE cuts wiped out years of growth in Virginia’s federal civilian jobs

January 15, 2026 Kunle Falayi

In February 2025, Goodyear announced that 850 workers would be laid off from their Danville, Virginia, plant. The layoffs here were part of a larger trend across the state as manufacturing took a down turn. *Photo by Christopher Tyree//VCIJ*

In most years, the Commonwealth has gained federal civilian workers. The Trump administration’s cuts took away more than 20,000 government jobs last year.

In rural Virginia, the paradox of a pandemic

July 2, 2020 Chris Tyree

Main Street in Hot Springs, Virginia, sits nearly empty on a Friday afternoon in late June—ordinarily the town's busy season.

The coronavirus paradox of rural Virginia — Bath County has no confirmed COVID-19 cases, yet the unemployment rate soared to a state-high 20.5% in April, before dropping back to 15.8% in May. State-ordered pandemic restrictions have stirred community tensions in a region already burdened with decades of job losses and population decline.