The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification on Oct. 14, indicating 126 employees at its Alexandria headquarters will be removed from the payroll on Dec. 9, but a source familiar with the matter told ALXnow on Friday that these are not new layoffs.
The 126 employees were part of the reduction in force announced on October 1 and have been on administrative leave since then, according to the source. The WARN notice filed with the Virginia Department of Workforce Development and Advancement reflects when those employees will officially come off the agency’s books.
The October reduction in force affected approximately 140 employees in total, representing about 1% of the USPTO’s 14,000-person workforce. Positions were eliminated across several departments, including communications, the Office of Public Engagement, and the Patents Unit.
The agency also closed its Rocky Mountain Regional Outreach Office in Denver as part of the October restructuring, affecting fewer than 10 employees.
The affected positions are at the agency’s headquarters at 600 Dulany Street in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood, though some employees may work remotely.
USPTO operations continue uninterrupted because the agency is funded by user fees rather than congressional appropriations. The layoffs are part of broader federal workforce reductions that have eliminated roughly 26,000 jobs in the D.C. region this year.
The cuts come months after the USPTO expanded its regional office operations in Alexandria, relocating its Southeast Regional Outreach Office from Atlanta to the Alexandria headquarters.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to clarify that the WARN notice reflects the October 1 layoffs, not additional cuts planned for December.
