The Education Department announced Tuesday that it was firing more than 1,300 workers, effectively gutting the agency that manages federal loans for college, tracks student achievement and enforces civil rights laws in schools.

The layoffs mean that the department, which started the year with 4,133 employees, will now have a workforce of about half that size after less than two months with President Donald Trump in office. In addition to the 1,315 workers who were fired Tuesday, 572 employees accepted separation packages offered in recent weeks, and 63 probationary workers were terminated last month.

The cuts could portend an additional move by Trump to essentially dismantle the department, as he has said he wants to do, even though it cannot be closed without the approval of Congress.

Linda McMahon, the education secretary, described the layoffs as part of an effort to deliver services more efficiently and said the changes would not affect student loans, Pell Grants, funding for special needs students or competitive grant making.

“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents and teachers,” McMahon said in a statement.

Sheria Smith, the president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, which represents more than 2,800 workers at the Education Department, said the Trump administration had “no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serve their fellow Americans” and vowed to fight the cuts.

“We will not stand idly by while this regime pulls the wool over the eyes of the American people,” Smith said.

Trump has repeatedly said he wants to close the Education Department and instead rely on states and local school districts to fully oversee America’s education system.

In an interview last week on Fox News, McMahon said Trump intended to sign an executive order aimed at closing her department, but she declined to give details on the timing.

An executive order to dismantle the department would challenge the authority of Congress, which created the department by statute and legally must sign off on any move to close it. In a closely divided Senate, it is unlikely the administration could find enough support to do so, particularly as public opinion polls during the past two months have consistently shown roughly two-thirds of Americans oppose closing the department.