The Trump administration has directed agency heads to fire most trial period and probationary staff within two days, taking aim at many of the roughly 200,000 people hired by the federal government within the last two years, according to four people familiar with internal conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
It was not immediately clear precisely how many employees would be affected. One person familiar with the matter said some employees, such as those working on public safety and law enforcement issues, would be exempted, and agency heads could carve out others based on particular needs.
But agencies appeared to move quickly on Thursday to carry out the directive, according to interviews with dozens of federal employees and records obtained by The Washington Post. Thousands of workers were laid off in messages delivered through prerecorded videos and on group calls. Some were ordered to leave the building within 30 minutes. Others were told they would be formally fired by email, which never arrived.
The latest data shows there were more than 220,000 federal employees within their one-year probationary period as of last March, according to Fedscope. These workers typically have little protection from being fired without cause.
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>The Trump administration has directed agency heads to fire most trial period and probationary staff within two days, taking aim at many of the roughly 200,000 people hired by the federal government within the last two years, according to four people familiar with internal conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.
>It was not immediately clear precisely how many employees would be affected. One person familiar with the matter said some employees, such as those working on public safety and law enforcement issues, would be exempted, and agency heads could carve out others based on particular needs.
>But agencies appeared to move quickly on Thursday to carry out the directive, according to interviews with dozens of federal employees and records obtained by The Washington Post. Thousands of workers were laid off in messages delivered through prerecorded videos and on group calls. Some were ordered to leave the building within 30 minutes. Others were told they would be formally fired by email, which never arrived.
>The latest data shows there were more than 220,000 federal employees within their one-year probationary period as of last March, according to Fedscope. These workers typically have little protection from being fired without cause.
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