US federal agencies begin mass firings

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - WASHINGTON — Mass firings have begun at US 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 Wednesday.

The mass firings mark the first from the Trump administration as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency aim to dramatically shrink the federal workforce. Until now, federal employees across all government agencies had only been placed on paid administrative leave.

The move comes the same day as a federal judge allowed the administration’s deferred resignation program to proceed. About 75,000 employees have accepted the offer, which generally allows them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September.

A form letter sent to Department of Education employees, obtained by CNN, informing them of their termination stated: “The Agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest.”

At the Department of Education, the firings have impacted employees across the agency from the general counsel’s office, to the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services that supports programs for children with disabilities, to the Federal Student Aid office, a union source told CNN.

The source said they have heard from dozens of employees who have been fired, but the full scope of the firings was not immediately clear.

The American Federation of Government Employees represents about 160 Department of Education employees that fall under the probationary status.

Letters similar to the Department of Education’s notice of termination were sent to Small Business Administration employees on Tuesday. The full scale of the firings at the agency was unclear as of Wednesday evening.

On Friday and Monday, probationary employees across the Small Business Administration had received an unsigned draft notice of employment termination, according to internal agency emails reviewed by CNN.

Later Monday, the agency sent another email advising employees that the draft notice “was sent in error - and as such, it is not currently in effect.”

“If you are in receipt of the initial notice, your employment has not been terminated as was erroneously indicated in the initial notice,” the email continued.

Notices of termination were then sent to probationary employees the next day, according to the union representing the employees.

The dismissal of probationary workers has been in the works since Inauguration Day, when the acting head of the Office of Personnel Management sent a memo to all agencies ordering them to compile a list of all their probationary workers and send it to the office. The January 20 memo noted that it is easier to terminate these employees.

The firings are part of the administration’s multipronged effort to slash the size of the federal workforce. In addition to the deferred resignation offer, Trump began the planning process for widespread layoffs on Tuesday, when he signed an executive order telling agency leaders to start preparations for reductions in force, or RIFs.

The president is also hoping to push federal staffers who work fully remotely or telework on certain days by requiring them to return to the office full-time. Plus, he has targeted federal employees involved in diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives and at the Education Department, the US Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. — CNN