{
  "id": 15641530,
  "title": "Argentina steps up drive to shrink public-sector workforce",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/argentina-steps-up-drive-to-shrink-public-sector-workforce",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-19T18:30:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Buenos Aires Times",
    "slug": "buenos-aires-times",
    "url": "https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/economy/argentina-steps-up-drive-to-shrink-public-sector-workforce.phtml"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "President Javier Milei's government has initiated a voluntary redundancy program to eliminate an additional 20,000 public-sector jobs, bringing the total cuts under his administration to over 77,000 positions. The one-month scheme, set to commence on November 1, aims to efficiently allocate public resources and reduce spending, allowing for further tax cuts, according to Deregulation & State Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger. The program offers varied payment packages and benefits based on employees' age and tenure, with a stipulation that they cannot rejoin public administration for eight years. The ATE state-workers' association has denounced the scheme as coercive dismissal, rejecting the decree. Since Milei's December 2023 inauguration, Argentina's public-sector workforce has experienced significant reductions, with 21 percent of jobs cut, amounting to 77,500 fewer positions. Overall, Argentina has lost 241,000 private-sector jobs and now has 482,000 private-sector employers, the fewest since 2007, according to Fundar. Sturzenegger's latest figures indicate 400,000 jobs have been created, including informal employment and self-employed workers, though informal employment has risen by three percentage points in the past three years, reaching approximately 45 percent.",
  "summary": "Milei government launches voluntary redundancy scheme aimed at cutting 20,000 jobs from the public sector; More than 77,000 state workers have lost posts since December 2023. Leer más",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}