As you read this, thousands and thousands of federal employees are being fired.
Today, the federal (Office of Personnel Management) OPM sent an email to all federal agencies that they can start terminating all federal probationary employees. (Probationary federal employees are new employees under one year on-the-job or less. Also, they don’t yet have civil sevice protection.)
Many federal agencies, within a hours, sent out emails to fire all probationary employees.
OPM advises agencies to fire probationary employees after ‘deferred resignation’ deadline.
The Office of Personnel Management is advising all federal agencies to fire their probationary employees after it stopped accepting new offers for its “deferred resignation” program last night.
Link to story: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2025/02/opm-fires-probationary-employees-after-deferred-resignation-deadline/
Some of the federal agencies firing probationary employees on Thursday, February 13, 2025 (Source: News media and individual agency employees who received the termination emails on federal employee bulletin boards.)
- US Forest Service - 3,400 employees (10% of their workforce). Link to NBC story: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-administration-federal-agencies-fire-probationary-employees-rcna192149
- All probationary NNSA employees terminated - At Department of Energy - Maintains the safety, security, and effectiveness of the US nuclear weapons stockpile.
- All USDA probationary employees.
- VA health researchers are being laid off in mass due to Term Appointments and hiring freeze.
- CNN: Scores of firings have begun at federal agencies, with terminations of probationary employees underway at the Department of Education and the Small Business Administration, federal employees and union sources told CNN.
- They just fired all probationary employees in OPM. They called a mandatory meeting at 1:30 ET for 2ET. Everyone sat on the call in silence.
- Politico reports: Energy Department set to fire probationary employees.The jobs of as many as 2,000 DOE staff. Link: https://www.politico.com/news/2025/02/13/doe-set-to-fire-at-will-employees-00204104
- Department of education fired all probationary employees yesterday. A lot of colleagues received an email around 5 pm noting termination: “…regret to inform you that your position has been terminated. See attached. Please coordinate with your supervisor to return your equipment and retrieve any belongings that may in the building. Best wishes."
- Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Thursday that it was dismissing more than 1,000 employees. Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-administration-federal-agencies-fire-probationary-employees-rcna192149
- The Education Department began terminating dozens of probationary employees on Wednesday.
- Department of Housing and Urban Development were today to expect up to a 50% reduction in workforce at the housing agency.
- The Trump administration has terminated nearly 1,300 probationary employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) according to balleralert.com/…
- About 1,200 to 2,000 workers at the Department of Energy were laid off, including hundreds of employees from the office that oversees the nuclear stockpile according to Reuters.
- Trump's administration has fired probationary staff at two U.S. Department of Agriculture research agencies and its farm loan agency per Reuters: www.reuters.com/...
Some horror stories from federal bulletin boards:
- "They fired all probationary employees within the Forest Service. My boss got the call at 3:45, called me at 3:55. Told me that I have by the end of work day. I am furloughed and had to drive to the office to see if I could print out my documents. My current job while furloughed is 45 minutes away. They locked me out of the system by 4:45 when I got to the office. This is so fucked."
- "My contract was terminated...I'm a (now) former USAID contractor, and as many contractors at USAID can attest, we are as much a part of the Agency as any direct hire. We live and breathe the mission even without giving the oath. And this week, I was told that my contract was terminated, and I no longer had any place at the Agency. The grief of losing that purpose is immense."
- "All USDA probationary employees. Just got the call I (was 😅) a probationary employee. They said it's happening to all USDA probationary employees and I'm sure there's other agencies."
- "My partner's contract was just terminated...My partner has worked in the chronic disease department of the CDC for years, and unknowingly worked his last day today. He and countless others have dedicated years of their lives to working for our country, dedicated to public health, and ensuring he did everything he could to better our nation in the role he had. I know he is one of many that was terminated." unrightfully, but I can't help but feel as if someone lit a fire under me.
- "A probationary employee, a 70% disabled veteran, was let go from the Department of Education yesterday evening. This was revealed during an AFGE general meeting call. When she shares her story, you’ll be blown away. It’s disheartening to see someone hired based on the strength of their resume and service, only to be terminated without cause. So much for honoring those who served our country. It’s hard not to think about how many people voted for this."
- "A Betrayal of Sacrifice: A Veteran’s Plea for Dignity. These past four weeks have been devastating. Last week, I sat in my car, waiting for my little girl to get out of school, and I cried. I served this country in Iraq, Afghanistan, and East Africa. When I came home, I struggled to make ends meet. No one was hiring a gunner. Eventually, I decided to use my GI Bill—not just for an education, but because I needed the extra cash. During that time, I earned my degree and landed a federal job. I was the first in my family to earn a degree and the first to work for the federal government. I loved my job. It was advertised as remote work, which made it possible for me to do my job well. Getting in and out of my car with a wheelchair is exhausting, and parking is always a hassle. Working from home gave me some relief in a life that has been anything but easy. Then I saw the Return to Office Executive Order, and I knew it was going to get worse. I was right. The past few weeks have been nothing short of terrifying. I fear for my family. I fear for myself."
Potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
Trump administration begins sweeping layoffs with probationary workers, warns of larger cuts to come
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.
Link to Associated Press story: https://apnews.com/article/trump-federal-workers-layoffs-doge-406752da1614755b8fabe9c94e0c71a8
From the Guardian:
Trump administration lays off most probationary staff and warns big cuts to come
Trump administration directs agencies to fire recent hires en masse
Thousands of employees were already let go as of Thursday, a number that is expected to skyrocket in the coming days. Link to Story: www.govexec.com/...
From NPR radio:
Sweeping cuts hit recent federal hires as Trump administration slashes workforce.
Federal workers have begun receiving layoff notices as the Trump administration moves ahead with plans to drastically downsize the government.
While the full scale of layoffs isn't yet clear, the first round of cuts appeared to target employees who were recently hired and still on probationary status, according to multiple federal officials and staffers who spoke to NPR on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the press and feared retaliation from the Trump administration. Link to NPR story: www.npr.org/...
From Reuters news agency:
Thousands fired in US government as Trump, Musk purge federal workers.
- Veterans Administration says fires more than 1,000
- CFPB firings appear to extend beyond probationary employees
- Musk team member enters IRS, raising fears of cuts at tax collecting agency
- Termination notices sent to workers at Education Department, Small Business Administration
The Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides health care for veterans, said it had let go of more than 1,000 employees who were in their probationary period, while the U.S. Forest Service was set to fire more than 3,000.
Link to Reuters story:
www.reuters.com/...
Here’s the federal Office of Personal Management (OPM) memo that started the mass firing of federal probationary workers. Link to online is here:
