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By James Bickerton
News Reporter
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Federal employees have said they feel "disrespected" and "helpless" after receiving notices "out of the blue" announcing their jobs were being cut, including some who'd already accepted the Trump administration's buyout offer.
Newsweek contacted the White House and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which manages human resources for the federal government, for comment on Saturday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump took office having vowed to fight the "deep state," the permanent government bureaucracy which his followers believe disrupted his first term in office. To this end he established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under tech billionaire Elon Musk, a close ally who has previously suggested up to $2 trillion could be cut from the federal budget.
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These cuts have placed the Trump administration in conflict with many federal employees and their representative unions. Supporters argue it will end up creating a leaner and more efficient state, while critics say vital government services will be weakened or disappear altogether.
What To Know
Immediately after taking office for the second time on January 20, President Donald Trump signed executive orders instructing federal employees to stop working remotely, and establishing DOGE under Musk's leadership.
The administration went on to offer many federal employees a buyout that would see them continue to receive pay and benefits until September 30 if they agreed to quit their jobs. According to The Associated Press, around 75,000 accepted.
On Thursday, federal agencies were ordered to lay off nearly all of their probationary employees, who typically have been in their jobs for less than a year and lack civil service protection. The number impacted by this announcement is unclear, though according to Office of Personnel Management data, in March 2024, there were 220,000 federal employees with less than a year on the job.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs laid off more than 1,000 employees in their probationary period on Thursday, Reuters reported and Politico said more than 800 had been dismissed from the U.S. Forest Service.
Speaking to AP, federal workers expressed their frustration and anger. Nicholas Detter, who was working as a natural resource specialist in Kansas until he was laid off by email on Thursday, said: "This has been slash and burn...None of this has been done thoughtfully or carefully."
Detter said he'd received an email on Thursday saying he'd lost his job despite already having accepted the administration's buyout offer, leaving him feeling "disrespected" and "a little bit helpless."
He added: "You're just kind of a pawn in a much bigger struggle that Elon Musk—in particular, I feel like—is his kind of battle he's decided to take on to shrink the government."
David Rice, a former army paratrooper who works at the Department of Energy providing advice on radiation, also learned on Thursday he had lost his job commenting: "It's just been chaos."
Andrew Lennox, a Marine veteran who worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, told AP he received an email announcing his employment had been terminated "out of the blue." The Iraq and Afghanistan veteran added: "In order to help veterans, you just fired a veteran."
What People Are Saying
New Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated on Friday that she was welcoming DOGE with "open arms" to her department, adding: "I think the American people spoke on November 5th, that they believe that government was too big."
An OPM spokesperson told Newsweek: "The probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment. Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the President's broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard."
Everett Kelley, head of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) union, told The Washington Post: "Employees were given no notice, no due process, and no opportunity to defend themselves in a blatant violation of the principles of fairness and merit that are supposed to govern federal employment."
What Happens Next
More federal employee layoffs are expected to take place in the coming months.
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