Mass firings at multiple U.S. government agencies have begun as President Donald Trump and Tesla (TSLA.O) CEO Elon Musk accelerate their purge of America's federal bureaucracy, union sources and employees familiar with the layoffs told Reuters on Thursday.
Termination emails have been sent in the past 48 hours to scores of government workers, mostly recently hired employees still on probation, at the Education Department, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages many federal buildings.
It was not immediately clear on Thursday how many federal workers stood to lose their jobs in the first wave of firings. But the move fulfills Trump's vow to reduce the size of the federal government and root out the "deep state," a reference to bureaucrats he views as not sufficiently loyal to him.
"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 with the Agency," letters sent to at least 45 probationers at the SBA stated.
Reuters has seen a copy of the termination letter.
Letters to at least 160 recent hires at the Education Department, also seen by Reuters, told them that their continued employment "would not be in the public interest."
Trump, a Republican serving his second term, repeatedly called for the elimination of the Education Department during his presidential campaign. On Wednesday, he called it a "con job" and said he wants it closed.
About 100 probationary employees received termination letters on Wednesday at the GSA, according to two people familiar with the firings.
One GSA employee, who said he had one month left until his probation period ended and had been receiving excellent performance reviews, was told this week he will be fired on Friday.
"Up until two weeks ago, this was an absolute dream job. Now it's become an absolute nightmare because of what is going on. I have small children and a mortgage to pay," the worker told Reuters.
According to government data, about 280,000 civilian government workers were hired less than two years ago, with most still on probation.
MASSIVE DOWNSIZING
Trump has tasked the South African-born Musk and members of his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary government agency, to undertake a massive downsizing of the 2.3 million-strong civilian federal workforce.
DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story, but a spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management, the human resources arm for the U.S. government, said the firings were in line with new government policy.
"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.
The unprecedented cost-cutting initiative has sown panic among thousands of federal workers in the U.S. capital who fear they may be targeted next.
Trump has pressed ahead with the effort despite a barrage of lawsuits from labor unions and Democratic attorneys-general and criticism, including from several Republican budget experts, that the initiative is ideologically driven.
Trump has defended the effort, saying the federal government is too bloated and that too much money is lost to waste and fraud. While there is bipartisan agreement on the need for government reform, critics have questioned the blunt force approach of Musk, who has amassed extraordinary influence.
In a video call addressing the World Government Summit in Dubai on Thursday, Musk said, "We do need to delete entire agencies."
Musk, the world's richest person, has sent DOGE members into at least 15 government agencies, where they have gained access to computer systems with sensitive personnel and financial information, and sent workers home.
They have led a successful drive to hollow out two agencies - the U.S. Agency for International Development that provides a lifeline to the world's needy, and the CFPB, which protects Americans from unscrupulous lenders.
About 70 probationers at the CFPB were sent termination letters on Tuesday night.
"It's just so stressful to deal with, it's hard to take," one career employee at the CFPB told Reuters after the probationers were fired. The agency has been shuttered and full-time staff sent home. "We all feel that we will be next."
LEGAL VICTORY
On Tuesday, with Musk by his side in the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order vastly expanding the power of DOGE, ordering U.S. agencies to prepare for mass layoffs and work closely with Musk's team in identifying government employees who can be laid off.
The deadline to take the offer expired on Wednesday evening. Asked why workers were not given extra time to consider the buyout so more would take it, Leavitt said, "I'm not so sure that we didn't hit the numbers we wanted."
