Major Fresno nonprofit may furlough 600 workers due to federal shutdown
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- Fresno EOC warned it may furlough about 600 staff if the 2025 federal shutdown persists.
- WARN Act notice covers layoffs at 41 county sites effective Jan. 1, 2026 if unresolved.
- Core programs report continuity now, but LGBTQ+ center and three jobs face funding cutoff.
More than 600 staffers at Fresno’s poverty fighting agency could be furloughed in the new year, with the organization’s leaders citing financial impact from the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“It is our sincere hope that this furlough will be temporary,” Fresno EOC CEO Steven Lewis said a letter to an impacted employee. The staff member shared the letter on condition of anonymity to protect employee privacy.
Fresno EOC notified the state on Oct. 31 of the potential layoffs of 639 staffers starting Jan. 1, 2026, which would impact employees at 41 program sites county-wide, including its downtown headquarters. The WARN Act, a state law, requires employers to provide a 60-day notice for mass layoffs, relocations or plant closures.
“If there is a federal resolution to the shutdown before January 1, 2026, the planned furloughs will be canceled,” Lewis said in a statement to The Bee.
The furloughs, which were first reported by nonprofit newsroom Fresnoland, could impact more than half the organization’s 1,000 full-time and part-time staff. Fresno EOC did not answer specific questions regarding how furloughs could potentially disrupt services or which positions would be impacted.
“At this time, all Fresno EOC programs, including Head Start 0 to 5, WIC, food services, and other essential programs, remain fully operational. Our priority is to ensure that families are supported and experience no disruption in services,” Lewis said.
Fresno EOC is the largest recipient of federal grant funding in Fresno County, receiving an annual $188 million, The Bee reported. Most of this funding is earmarked for the early childhood enrichment program, Head Start.
The furloughs would be the latest in a string of blows facing Fresno EOC over the past year. The nonprofit organization, which dates back to 1965, has faced a leadership shakeup, multimillion-dollar deficit, declining Head Start enrollment and funding cuts under the Trump administration.
In March, the Board of Commissioners approved a forensic audit of the organization’s finances. The forensic audit was championed by commissioner and State Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula following a separate audit of the Head Start program, which was prompted by a whistleblower complaint to the federal Office of Head Start.
LGBTQ+ services also at risk
Three employees who run the LGBTQ+ Resource Center are also at risk of losing their jobs if grant funding doesn’t materialize.
In an Oct. 6 letter addressed shared with The Bee, Fresno EOC said the center only had funding through Dec. 27.
“If additional grant funding is not awarded by that date, the program will end, and all positions will be eliminated,” the letter said.
The letter was shared by an employee of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Fresno EOC did not comment on how many positions within the LGBTQ+ Resource Center would be impacted.
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The center was launched by Fresno EOC in 2019 to support the health and wellbeing of the region’s LGBTQ+ community.
In March, the resource center departed from its office on Fulton Street to an office in the building’s headquarters on Mariposa Street in a cost saving measure.
New leadership for Fresno EOC amid turmoil
Lewis took the helm of the 60-year-old poverty fighting agency in late August following the seven-month interim term of Brian Angus, former CEO of the organization from 2010 to 2019.
Angus took over after former CEO Emilia Reyes’s high-profile departure at the end of 2024 amid the organization’s $3 million deficit.
“I’m honored to step into this role and lead an organization with such an important mission,” Lewis said in an August press release.
“I believe in the power of community action and look forward to working alongside the dedicated staff, board, and partners who make Fresno EOC’s work possible,” he said.
Lewis brings more than two decades of experience in nonprofit and Head Start leadership, including executive roles in Pennsylvania and Missouri.
This story was originally published November 7, 2025 at 11:07 AM.
