The Education Department plans to lay off over 1,300 of its more than 4,000 employees as part of a reorganization that’s seen as a prelude to President Donald Trump’s plan to shut down the agency.

President Trump said he felt "very badly" for the federal workers who have lost their jobs under his administration but defended the decision by claiming "many of them don't work at all." Trump also stood by the decision to downsize the Department of Education and shift responsibility to the states.

The moves will cut the department from 4,133 workers when President Donald Trump began his second term in January to 2,183 workers. The significant cuts come as Trump is considering an executive order attempting to dismantle the agency and as all federal departments and agencies are preparing "large-scale reductions in force" ahead of a Thursday deadline ordered by Trump.