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Mass layoffs have begun at several U.S. government agencies as President Donald Trump and Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk push forward with efforts to reduce the federal workforce, according to union sources and employees familiar with the situation.
Over the past 48 hours, termination emails have been sent to numerous government employees, primarily probationary workers, at agencies including the Education Department, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA).
In addition, the Department of Energy is expected to cut most or all of its roughly 2,000 probationary employees on Thursday, Politico reported.
The total number of job losses in this initial round remains unclear, but the move aligns with Trump’s long-standing pledge to shrink the federal government and eliminate what he has referred to as the “deep state”—bureaucrats he believes are not loyal to his administration.
At least 45 probationary employees at the SBA received letters stating they were being dismissed due to inadequate performance or because their skills did not meet the agency’s needs.
A copy of the termination letter reviewed by Reuters read: “The Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and skills do not fit the current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment.”
At the Education Department, at least 160 recent hires received termination letters that stated their continued employment “would not be in the public interest,” according to documents seen by Reuters.
Trump, now in his second term, has long advocated for the dissolution of the Education Department. On Wednesday, he reiterated his stance, calling the agency a “con job” and expressing his intent to shut it down.
At the GSA, about 100 probationary employees were informed Wednesday that they would be dismissed, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
A spokesperson for OPM said the layoffs align with the administration’s new policies on federal employment.
“The Trump administration is encouraging agencies to use the probationary period as it was intended: as a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment,” the spokesperson said.
