Warnings of permanent layoffs in case of shutdown

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report: "Warnings of Permanent Layoffs in Case of Shutdown"

Date: September 25, 2025
Host: David Brancaccio
Duration: ~9 Minutes

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Overview

This episode of the Marketplace Morning Report, hosted by David Brancaccio, delivers a concise round-up of urgent business and economic news, centering on looming federal layoffs in the event of a U.S. government shutdown, evolving U.S.-Argentina financial relations, the preservation of traditional irrigation systems in the American Southwest under climate strain, and fallout at Disney after the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Federal Shutdown Warnings and Possible Layoffs

[01:14 - 02:46]

• Permanent Layoff Threats:
  David Brancaccio introduces a warning from the Trump administration about thousands of federal workers facing permanent layoffs if a government shutdown occurs next week.

• OMB Memo:
  Nancy Marshall Genzer reports that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a memo to agency heads instructing them to prepare layoff notices for all employees in programs lacking funding for FY 2026 (starting October 1). This would also affect staff in programs outside President Trump's stated priorities.

  • Quote [01:43]:

    "They should consider layoff notices for all employees in programs that haven’t been funded yet." — Nancy Marshall Genzer

• Exemptions:
  Pentagon and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees, as well as those handling mandatory funding (e.g., Social Security), would not be subject to these layoffs.

• Political Disagreement:
  The Senate failed to pass a stopgap bill, with Democrats seeking to include continued health care subsidies, while Republicans push for a “clean bill.”

• Political Fallout:
  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calls the OMB memo “an attempt at intimidation.”

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2. U.S. Moves to Financially Backstop Argentina

[02:46 - 03:55]

• Support for Milei’s Government:
  After recent election setbacks, Argentine President Javier Milei receives public thanks from the U.S. as the Trump administration offers financial assistance—including a potential $20 billion loan and U.S. debt buyback—to stabilize Argentina’s currency.

• Domestic Controversy:
  Some U.S. Democrats question the appropriateness of using emergency funds to support a foreign government’s currency.

  • Quote [03:38]:

    "Some Democrats say it is troubling the president would use emergency funds to inflate the value of a foreign government's currency."
    — Ione Wells (BBC)

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3. Traditional Hispanic Irrigation Canals at Risk

[05:27 - 08:17]

• Acequias Under Pressure:
  Caleb Radel highlights how Hispanic communities in the U.S. Southwest, especially in New Mexico and Colorado, rely on centuries-old acequia (gravity-fed ditch) irrigation systems now threatened by climate change and historic drought.

• Cultural and Environmental Value:

  • Farmer Santiago Maestas emphasizes,
    Quote [06:32]:

    "Our whole community basically is built around the irrigation canals, or ditches, acequias as we call them."

  • The acequia system uses no machinery, relying solely on gravity for irrigation.

• Community Governance:
  Local farmers pay dues, elect managers, and share maintenance duties, preserving a long-standing communal governance tradition.

• Water Supply Strain:
  J.J. Gonzalez notes that rainfall patterns are increasingly unreliable, impacting ditch water supply.

  • Quote [07:33]:

    "We get the rain in July and August and it didn’t materialize this year." — J.J. Gonzalez

• Sustainability:
  Research shows acequias help recharge groundwater and keep valleys green.

  • Quote [08:09]:

    "The valley is green because of the acequias. Without the acequias, the valley would be just as dry as the mesas that surround us." — Santiago Maestas

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4. Disney Faces Pressure Over Jimmy Kimmel Suspension

[08:27 - 09:17]

• Shareholder Challenge:
  Disney is facing potential legal action from shareholders, who are demanding records regarding the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel after his controversial on-air comments about right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.

• Market Impact:
  Disney stock dropped by 2% (~$4 billion loss) following Kimmel’s suspension, which came after pressure from the FCC chair and President Trump. Kimmel has since returned, but President Trump threatens further retaliation.

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Notable Quotes

• [01:43] Nancy Marshall Genzer:

  "They should consider layoff notices for all employees in programs that haven’t been funded yet."

• [03:38] Ione Wells (BBC):

  "Some Democrats say it is troubling the president would use emergency funds to inflate the value of a foreign government's currency."

• [06:32] Santiago Maestas:

  "Our whole community basically is built around the irrigation canals, or ditches, acequias as we call them."

• [07:33] J.J. Gonzalez:

  "We get the rain in July and August and it didn’t materialize this year."

• [08:09] Santiago Maestas:

  "The valley is green because of the acequias. Without the acequias, the valley would be just as dry as the mesas that surround us."

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [01:14] Government shutdown layoff warnings
• [02:46] U.S. financial support for Argentina
• [05:27] Hispanic acequia irrigation systems
• [08:27] Disney/Jimmy Kimmel shareholder challenge

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This episode covers a broad range of trending economic topics—including domestic political tension over the federal budget, global financial diplomacy, climate-adaptive traditions in U.S. agriculture, and corporate governance under political pressure—helping listeners understand the practical and political stakes behind today’s headlines.

Transcript

[Marketplace Host]

You can turn to Marketplace to hear from powerful leaders and everyday people about the economy and their role in it. Now we hope we can turn to you. Marketplace is facing real threats and challenges as we plan for the future. As a public media program, donations from you are an important part of our budget. Here's one action you can take right now that will have a long lasting impact. Start a monthly donation to support our work. Five bucks a month is a great place to start. Head to marketplace.org donate and thank you. Hello listeners. Marketplace's Webby Winning Kids podcast Million Bazillion is back for an all new season. Hosts Bridget and Ryan are answering a whole new set of kid questions about everything from royalties and franchises to why the heck we have a $2 bill. You even grown ups might learn a thing or two. Million Bazillion is presented in partnership with Greenlight, the debit card and money app for kids and teens. Give your family the tools to manage money wisely with Greenlight. Learn [e-mail] million and tune in to Million Bazillion wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

[David Brancaccio]

A Trump administration official warns of permanent layoffs if the federal government shuts down next week David I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. If there's a partial government shutdown next week, the Trump administration is planning to permanently fire thousands of federal workers. Democrats and Republicans are fighting over funding the government's next accounting year. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genzer reports.

[Nancy Marshall Genzer]

The Office of Management and Budget sent out a memo with stark instructions for heads of federal agencies. They should consider layoff notices for all employees in programs that haven't been funded yet. For the government's 2026 federal fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. This would also apply to workers in programs that didn't get any additional money. In President Trump's big tax and spending bill passed earlier this year, employees in programs, quote, not consistent with the president's priorities would also have to go. Workers at the Pentagon and ICE would be spared, as would employees doing things that receive mandatory funding, like sending out Social Security checks. In a statement last night, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the OMB memo is an attempt at intimacy intimidation. The House passed a stopgap bill last week that would fund the government through November 21, but it failed in the Senate. Democrats want any stopgap funding bill to include things like money for expiring subsidies for people buying health insurance on Obamacare exchanges. Republicans are insisting on what they call a clean bill. I'm Nancy Marshall, Genser for Marketplace Argentina's.

[David Brancaccio]

President Javier Milei has thanked the US for its support after the Trump administration moved to president financially Backstop Milei, a leader seen as a political ally. The US is in negotiations to lend $20 billion to Argentina's central bank and is ready to buy back US debt, the BBC's Ione Wells reports.

[Ione Wells]

President Javier Milei's party recently suffered election losses in Buenos Aires province, sparking concern he could face more political trouble ahead of the country's midterm elections in October. The losses raised doubts about the future of his radical cost cutting program. The currency lost value as investors moved money out of the country. US Treasury Secretaries Scott Besant and Donald Trump have said they are prepared to do what is needed to support Argentina's currency. This has caused some pushback in the US with some Democrats saying it is troubling the president would use emergency funds to inflate the value of a foreign government's currency.

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[David Brancaccio]

For hundreds of years, Hispanic communities across the Southwest have relied on a network of hand dug ditches to water their crops and feed their families. But now these traditions are under pressure from a changing climate and dwindling water. The Mountain West News Bureau's Caleb Radel spent time with farmers working to keep alive these historic waterways and the culture they carry.

[Caleb Radel]

Albuquerque's south valley is surrounded by brown desert and towering red mesas. But inside this valley, the land is sprouting lush trees and green fields. Here, the Rio Grande river spills into irrigation ditches. They're called acacias. And wind through the landscape of this small Hispanic community, carrying rain and snowmelt straight to crops. Farmer Santiago Maestas gestures to the acequia he gets water from.

[Santiago Maestas / J.J. Gonzalez]

It's totally a gravity fed system. We don't use machinery as such, no.

[Caleb Radel]

Pumps, pipes or sprinklers, just flowing water that feeds farmland the old fashioned way by flooding it. For decades, Maestis has been doing that to grow apples, chili and corn.

[Santiago Maestas / J.J. Gonzalez]

Our whole community basically is built around the irrigation canals, or ditches, acecas, as we call them.

[Caleb Radel]

But he's worried that's at risk of fading into the past. Spanish colonists began digging these ditches in the 1600s. Now New Mexico has hundreds of acequias that function through community governance. Neighboring Colorado has a few dozen. Farmers pay dues, elect a manager to oversee each acequia, and share in their cleaning and upkeep. An hour north of Albuquerque in La cienega Valley, farmer J.J. gonzalez is doing just that, scooping leaves, sticks and sediment out of the acequia he manages.

[Santiago Maestas / J.J. Gonzalez]

There's always trash falling into the ditch, so this is the stopping point for the debris.

[Caleb Radel]

Gonzalez is at a head gate, which looks like a metal door set into the ditch that controls how much water is released. He says their water supply this year has been stable so far, but usually.

[Santiago Maestas / J.J. Gonzalez]

We get the rain in July and August and it didn't materialize this year.

[Caleb Radel]

That's been the case most summers in the southwest, Arizona and New Mexico are currently experiencing the worst drought in 1200 years for an ancient ditch system that relies on gravity and flood irrigation. Drought threatens to future of acequias, and these earthen canals are worth preserving for a number of reasons. Santiago Maestas points to research from New Mexico State University that shows they can hold water for long periods, and their seepage recharges groundwater that eventually returns to the river.

[Santiago Maestas / J.J. Gonzalez]

The valley is green because of the acequias. Without the acequias, the valley would be just as dry as the mesas that surround us.

[Caleb Radel]

Maesta says the farmers in this community plan to keep it that way. As long as they can. In South Albuquerque, New Mexico, I'm Caleb Radle for Marketplace.

[David Brancaccio]

In what appears to be prep for a shareholder lawsuit, the publication Semaphore says some holders of Disney stock have requested board notes, documents and emails from ABC's parent company about the decision to suspend Jimmy Kimmel from his late night show. Disney stock lost 2%, or about $4 billion in value amid the backlash to Kimmel's firing after pressure from the chair of the Federal Communications Commission and President Trump. Kimmel's comments about the murder of right wing activist Charlie Kirk prompted two large ABC affiliate groups to pull the Kimmel show before Disney, ABC acted. Kimmel is back on, and Disney faces new promises of retaliation from President Trump. In Los Angeles, I'm David Brancaccio. This is the Marketplace MORNING REPORT.

[Caleb Radel]

From.

[David Brancaccio]

APM American Public Media.

[Million Bazillion Host]

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[Caleb Radel]

Apparently.