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Mass Federal Employee Firings by the Numbers

Washington, D.C. – In a significant move to reduce the size of the federal workforce, several agencies have executed widespread layoffs over the past week, focusing primarily on employees in their probationary period. Here's an updated breakdown of the workforce numbers and the extent of the layoffs:

Federal Workforce Overview

Total Federal Employees (as of March 2024): Approximately 2.2 million
Total Probationary Employees: About 220,000 (9.4% of total workforce)

Layoffs by Department

The Trump administration has targeted probationary employees for layoffs, citing efficiency and cost-saving measures. These employees, generally within their first year or two of service, lack the full protections of civil service employment:

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA): Laid off over 1,000 employees, saving an estimated $98 million annually. However, more than 43,000 probationary employees were exempt from these layoffs.
Department of Energy (DOE): Fired around 2,000 probationary employees. There was an attempt to identify "mission-critical" employees, but the exact number of those retained or dismissed was not immediately clear.
U.S. Forest Service: Laid off approximately 3,400 employees, with firefighters being exempted from these cuts.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM): Dozens of probationary employees were terminated in a group call, instructed to leave the premises by the afternoon of the announcement.
Department of Education: An unspecified number of probationary employees were let go, with notices citing performance issues despite positive reviews for some workers.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB): Terminated around 73 probationary staff members as part of broader efforts to potentially disband the agency.
Small Business Administration (SBA): Initially sent out termination notices to probationary staff, later rescinded, but then confirmed for some employees.
General Services Administration (GSA): Probationary employees were called into meetings and informed of their termination.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH): Approximately 5,200 probationary employees are targeted for layoffs.
Department of Agriculture: Layoffs affected employees in areas like animal and plant health inspection, farmland conservation, and agricultural research.

This series of layoffs follows directives from the Office of Personnel Management, which had previously asked agencies to justify retaining probationary employees. The scope of these layoffs aligns with an executive order emphasizing workforce optimization and significant reductions in force across federal agencies. The administration has set a precedent for further layoffs as part of an ongoing effort to streamline government operations.