Federal workers in Maine and around the country are facing uncertainty following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows the Trump administration to move forward with widespread workforce reductions, though it’s still early to say exactly what impact the decision will have.

The court’s order Tuesday allows the administration to proceed with plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce and reorganize federal agencies. The decision unfreezes plans for layoffs that were already in the works and were blocked by a lower court, and it could result in job losses for tens of thousands of employees around the country.

More litigation is expected, though, as the high court did not rule on the legality of specific layoffs or reorganizations and its order only applies to a temporary freeze that had been put in place while the underlying challenge to Trump’s plans proceeds.

Labor officials said Wednesday that it’s unclear exactly how federal workers in Maine will be affected and what layoffs or reductions may be coming. But they said the ruling has prompted concerns from workers as well as the people who rely on the services they provide.

“Federal workers are anxious and really worried their jobs might be next,” said Andy O’Brien, communications director for the Maine AFL-CIO, a federation of labor unions that includes ones representing federal workers around the state. “A lot of people go into these jobs because they care about the services they provide, and they’re concerned about the people they serve.”

There are about 12,700 federal employees in Maine. Many of them — about 6,500 — are employed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

Alana Schaeffer, president of the Portsmouth Metal Trades Council, a union representing about 3,600 of the shipyard’s workers, said Wednesday that they haven’t gotten any specifics on possible actions the federal government might take in the aftermath of Tuesday’s ruling.

The shipyard canceled a hiring event in March amid what it said was a temporary recruiting and hiring pause. Schaeffer said there have also been delays in promotions and instances of people being let go and brought back under the new Trump administration.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, the government doesn’t tend to move that fast,” Schaeffer said. “We usually end up in sort of a stand-by pattern. It does make people anxious — the back and forth and not knowing what’s going to happen.”

The U.S. Navy declined to comment on future employment plans for the shipyard.

Other federal agencies with employees in Maine include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and Department of the Interior.

Media contacts for the Department of Veterans Affairs did not respond to questions about plans for layoffs or staff reductions in Maine, though VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a news release earlier this week that his agency is not currently considering any department-wide reductions. The VA employs about 2,500 people in Maine.

It had previously announced plans to cut its federal workforce by more than 80,000 people, but revised that number in Monday’s news release, in which it said it is on track to eliminate 30,000 employees by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.

The department has already cut its workforce from 484,000 as of Jan. 1 to 467,000 as of June 1, and said it expects to reduce by another 12,000 through normal attrition, voluntary early retirement or its deferred resignation program, with the reductions aimed at improving operational efficiency.

The National Park Service, which is part of the Department of the Interior, declined to comment Wednesday on potential impacts at Acadia National Park, saying its policy is to not comment on personnel matters. The park was briefly subject to a hiring freeze earlier this year and also saw eight employees laid off in February — about a 10% reduction in its year-round staff.

Members of Maine’s congressional delegation stressed Wednesday that the court’s ruling does not address specific restructurings or firings at agencies, but said there could still be impacts and urged restructuring to be done in a manner that complies with existing laws. The offices of Sen. Angus King, I-ME, and Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, did not provide comment on the ruling.

“Even in the short term, the impacts on Maine could be significant,” said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, in an emailed statement. “Since January, dozens of federal employees living and working in Maine have been terminated without cause, and with no advanced notice — including probationary employees at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Department of Agriculture, Acadia National Park and the Department of Health and Human Services.

“While (the shipyard) was eventually exempted, it’s unclear what this ruling will mean for our state’s federal workforce going forward. But the fear is that more mass firings are on the way.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said “any restructuring needs to be done in a manner consistent with federal law, and these agencies must be able to fulfill their duties to the American people as designed by Congress.”