US Patent and Trademark Office to lay off 126 at Alexandria HQ

The United States Patent and Trademark Office announced plans to lay off about 1% of its workforce of over 14,000 employees as the agency continues to operate amid a government shutdown, according to an internal letter to agency staff from Oct. 1. That number includes 126 employees at its Alexandria headquarters, including 68 workers from Virginia.

Citing an agency reorganization, the agency notified Virginia state government of the layoffs last week, in compliance with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.

USPTO Human Resources Director Carolyn Schad said the job cuts were due to reorganization and that the affected employees had been notified that layoffs will occur “no earlier” than Dec. 9. She said the agency plans to host a virtual career fair, along with interview and résumé skills training, for the employees affected by the layoffs.

USPTO did not immediately return requests for comment.

The Oct. 1 letter from acting patent commissioner Valencia Wallace, which was seen by Reuters, described the layoffs as a reduction in force “to focus on mission-critical operations” and said six positions in the agency’s patent unit would be affected.

USPTO Director John Squires said in a separate internal letter on Oct. 1 that the layoffs were not performance-related. Some of the layoffs were in the communications department, according to a person familiar with the situation.

The U.S. government shut down much of its operations on Oct. 1, as deep partisan divisions prevented Congress and the White House from reaching a funding deal. This shutdown is different from past government closures because Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers if lawmakers do not pass legislation to avert the closures.

The USPTO will remain open until further notice using reserve funds from patent and trademark fees collected last year, according to Wallace’s letter and a public notice.

The agency also announced on Oct. 1 that it would permanently close a regional satellite office in Denver. Wallace’s letter said most of the office’s “fewer than 30” employees would now work remotely.

The USPTO is responsible for issuing U.S. patents and trademarks and advising the government on intellectual property policy. Its Patent Trial and Appeal Board provides a venue outside the federal courts for patent validity disputes.

Republican President Donald Trump‘s campaign to radically reshape the federal government is on track to push out nearly 300,000 workers by December. Though Trump has not singled out the USPTO, which is funded by user fees, for job reductions, some probationary employees lost their jobs earlier this year amid the government’s downsizing efforts.

(Reporting for Reuters by Blake Brittain and Courtney Rozen; Editing by Chris Reese and Nick Zieminski)