The Trump administration continued its efforts on Thursday to reduce the bloated federal workforce. The Human Resources Administration fires almost all probation employees.
The report says layoffs could potentially impact hundreds of thousands of workers, with more cuts expected soon.
CBS Report situation:
The workers at the personnel office themselves were not immune. Dozens of OPM probation employees leave the building, as they were told they were fired in a group call Thursday afternoon and then were told to leave the building within 50 minutes. I was instructed to do so. He spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Probable workers layoffs come after President Trump signature Tuesday's executive order is communicated to agencies to prepare for “massive cuts.” The reduction does not apply to “public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.”
President Trump's executive order states:
To restore accountability to the American people, the order launches a significant transformation of federal bureaucracy. By eliminating waste, bloating and isolation, my administration empowers American families, workers, taxpayers, and the system of government itself.
The report says that some probation workers were fired from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education (DOE) earlier this week. The union representing workers said at least 39 people had been fired from the DOE on Wednesday.
The Veterans Affairs Bureau (VA) announced Thursday that it had fired more than 1,000 “mission-critical” probation workers, the report continues. The agency said the move would save the VA more than $98 million a year, and plans to redirect it to the healthcare, benefits and services of the VA beneficiaries.
Another person who is familiar with the issue he spoke to while anonymous, said that CBS News had an employee. This week, the National Science Foundation and the Housing and Urban Development sector were told that substantial cuts are imminent. In some cases, the cuts could even cut the workforce by halving, sources said.
