Milei's government reported that it has already fired more than 41,000 'ñoquis' from the state.

The Government of Javier Milei, through the Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation, led by Federico Sturzenegger, reported that the reduction of personnel in the central administration, mostly Kirchnerist freeloaders, caused a "permanent" savings of 349 million dollars and an estimated total of 4.548 billion dollars "at current value."

Since the inauguration of President Javier Milei in December 2023 until January 2024, the government implemented a "profound restructuring of the public sector," eliminating 41,142 public positions in various areas and hiring modalities. This represents a reduction of 8.2% of the total employees the State had at the start of the current administration.

The largest adjustment occurred in the Centralized and Decentralized Administration, with a decrease of 23,576 state jobs. It was followed by public companies, with 13,161 cuts, and military and security personnel, where 4,405 positions were eliminated.

According to the Ministry, the National Public Administration (APN), one of the few sectors that had recorded employment growth in the last decade, suffered a reduction of more than 23,000 positions.

The official report details that the decline in public employment was mainly distributed between the APN and state companies. The APN reduced its workforce by 11.5%, while in state companies the cut reached 14.4%.

The hirings

The Ministry of Deregulation and State Transformation detailed that until January 2024 the reduction of personnel in the National Public Administration was distributed as follows:

A 5.4% less in the permanent and temporary staff, a 17.9% in personnel under the "Framework Law" (of National Public Employment Regulation, enacted in 1999) and a 63% in the Contracts for Works and Services (LOYS).

According to the Ministry's calculations, this restructuring caused a total savings of 4.548 billion dollars "in perpetuity," with a long-term average monthly savings close to 349 million dollars.

The largest budget cut comes from the reduction of contracts under the "Framework Law," which represents a savings of 2.074 billion dollars. It is followed by the decrease in permanent and temporary staff, with an estimated savings of 1.708 billion dollars.

Regarding LOYS contracts, although proportionally they were the most reduced, the savings is smaller (766 million dollars) because it is a less numerous sector within national public employment.