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- Thousands of federal workers have been fired across multiple federal agencies.
- The layoffs target probationary workers, who typically have less than two years in their role.
- It comes as the Trump administration targets spending in the federal government.
Multiple US agencies have fired thousands of employees as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically shrink the size of the federal government.
Agencies from the Office of Personnel Management to the US Forest Service notified probationary employees on Thursday of their termination, multiple sources inside each of those agencies told Business Insider.
Workers classified as “probationary” workers typically have less than two years of experience in their roles. The layoffs came one day after a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration’s buyout offer could proceed.
David Rice, a probationary employee at the Department of Energy, received his termination notice — reviewed by BI — on Thursday night. He was hired in September after serving in the army for 25 years, and he said that had he not checked his email before he was locked out of the system, he never would have known.
“I would have tried to log in on Tuesday morning and found out that I can’t log in,” Rice said. “I never would even been notified because no one’s called me. No one’s told me anything other than just sending me an email after hours.”
Here’s a look at which agencies have been affected so far.
Forest Service
About 3,400 probationary workers at Forest Service were fired on Thursday, Dennis Lapcewich, the vice president of the Forest Service Council of the National Federation of Federal Employees union, told Business Insider.
The USFS employs about 35,000 people.
A USFS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from BI.
“It’s like watching the enemy advance and seeing that the next town over just got razed,” a National Parks Service employee told BI.
A USFS employee who has worked in the federal government for six years told BI that he’s most worried about the long-term effects of the cuts on those who rely on the forest service’s resources.
“I worry about myself personally, but I’m a public servant. I care about the public. I took an oath to the Constitution,” he said. Though he’s not a probationary employee and wasn’t fired, he said he learned on a group video call on Thursday about the terminations and that some senior leadership would be immediately reassigned.
“These are the next generation of public servants. Obviously, with anything in life, you want to have some type of succession plan. We’re missing out on building the succession plan,” he told BI.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
OPM, which is essentially the US government’s HR department and oversees the retirement accounts for about 2.8 million active federal workers, fired dozens of probationary employees on Thursday.
On the call, which took place around 2:40 PM ET, an OPM official announced that affected employees had until 3 PM ET —approximately 20 minutes — to gather their belongings before their access to the office and IT systems would be terminated. BI reviewed a recording of the call.
“Professionalism my ass,” one probationary employee who was laid off told BI over text. “Definitely wasn’t treated with dignity.”
Department of Education and Small Business Administration
Termination notices were also sent to probationary workers at the Department of Education and Small Business Administration on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to letters that were viewed by BI.
A letter sent to one Department of Education employee whose identity was verified by Business Insider said the agency found that the worker did not demonstrate their employment would be “in the public interest.”
At least 60 probationary employees with the Department of Education received the letters or received phone calls from management, union officials told BI.
An SBA spokesperson did not immediately respond to request for comment from BI. A representative from the Department of Education declined to comment to BI.
Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced the termination of 1,000 employees on Thursday.
The VA press release said that it dismissed “non-bargaining unit probationary employees” who had served two years or less in their appointments, and the agency estimated the terminations would save it more than $98 million per year.
“This was a tough decision, but ultimately it’s the right call to better support the Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors the department exists to serve,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement.
“To be perfectly clear,” Collins said, “these moves will not negatively impact VA healthcare, benefits, or beneficiaries. In the coming weeks and months, VA will be announcing plans to put these resources to work helping veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.”
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau terminated dozens of probationary employees on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The termination notice, reviewed by BI, stated: “The Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and skills do not fit the Agency’s current needs.”
The terminations follow CFPB’s acting director, Russell Vought, directing all employees at the agency to stop working and obtain written permission to perform any of their duties.
‘Fork in the Road’ offer in action
The mass layoff of probationary staff occurred one day after a federal judge allowed the administration to continue its deferred resignation program.
Known as the “Fork in the Road” offer, more than 2 million employees were given the choice in January to resign in exchange for pay and benefits until the end of September or remain in their roles without guarantee that they will keep their jobs. Over 75,000 employees took the buyout.
Multiple legal challenges have been raised in response to the flurry of executive orders from the Trump administration.
On February 7, a federal judge temporarily blocked the US Agency for International Development from placing 2,200 employees on paid leave. The block is set to end on Friday at midnight.
Lapcewich, the union representative for the US Forest Service, told BI that legal avenues are being explored in response to the latest layoff of probationary workers.
“All I can tell you is that legal issues are being pursued by union lawyers,” he said.
