Trump administration begins sweeping layoffs with probationary workers, warns of larger cuts to come – The Associated Press
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The Trump administration has intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees. Here’s what to know.
Protesters hold banners during a rally in front of the Office of Personnel Management, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Cindy Nell, of Cheverly, Md., holds a banner during a rally in front of the Office of Personnel Management, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. President Donald Trump is relying on a relatively obscure federal agency to reshape government. The Office of Personnel Management was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and is the equivalent of the government’s human resources department. It helps manage the civil service, including pay schedules, health insurance and pension programs. The agency has offered millions of federal workers eight months of salary if they voluntarily choose to leave their jobs by Feb. 6. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Carrie Muniak joins a rally in front of the Office of Personnel Management, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. President Donald Trump is relying on a relatively obscure federal agency to reshape government. The Office of Personnel Management was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and is the equivalent of the government’s human resources department. It helps manage the civil service, including pay schedules, health insurance and pension programs. The agency has offered millions of federal workers eight months of salary if they voluntarily choose to leave their jobs by Feb. 6. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
President Donald Trump speaks before Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is sworn in as Health and Human Services Secretary in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation’s largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection — potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
In addition, workers at some agencies were warned that large workplace cuts would be coming.
The decision on probationary workers, who generally have less than a year on the job, came from the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government. The notification was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Even workers in the personnel office itself were not immune: Dozens of probationary employees at OPM were told on a Thursday afternoon group call that they were being dismissed and then instructed to leave the building within a half-hour, according to another person who likewise spoke on condition of anonymity.
It’s expected to be the first step in sweeping layoffs. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that told agency leaders to plan for “large-scale reductions in force.”
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Elon Musk, whom President Trump has given wide leeway to slash government spending with his Department of Government Efficiency, called Thursday for the elimination of whole agencies.
“I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind,” Musk said via a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “If we don’t remove the roots of the weed, then it’s easy for the weed to grow back.”
Everett Kelley, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees representing federal workers, said the administration “abused” the probation status of workers “to conduct a politically driven mass firing spree, targeting employees not because of performance, but because they were hired before Trump took office.”
Thursday’s order was an expansion of previous directions from OPM, which told agencies earlier this week that probationary employees should be fired if they weren’t meeting high standards. It’s not clear how many workers are currently in a probationary period. According to government data maintained by OPM, as of March 2024, 220,000 workers had less than a year on the job — the most recent data available.
The firing of probationary employees began earlier this week and has included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education workers.
At least 39 were fired from the Education Department on Wednesday, according to a union that represents agency workers, including civil rights workers, special education specialists and student aid officials.
The layoffs also hit Department of Veterans Affairs researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a D
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