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By Mandy Taheri
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Thousands of federal workers have seen their employment status change, either after being laid off, placed on leave or terminated, since President Donald Trump took office in January and created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at reducing the federal workforce.
Why It Matters
Since taking office just over five weeks ago, Trump has pledged to dramatically reduce federal costs and shrink the government workforce, mainly through the White House task force DOGE, which is helmed by billionaire Elon Musk.
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Many of the drastic cuts have been criticized by Democrats and other opponents as an overreach of executive power, seen as unfairly targeting federal workers who have served the country for years. Only a handful of Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about the criteria for the mass firings and their potential long-term consequences.
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A flurry of lawsuits has been filed against the administration by various unions and nonprofits representing recently terminated employees.
Affected workers live across the country, representing dozens of states.
What To Know
Communication about the terminations and layoffs has been swift, with employees sometimes receiving evening emails listing immediate end dates. Many workers have said their terminations are not performance based and came without warning.
Most departments and agencies have not publicly announced the cuts and there is no official government count of terminated employees. Newsweek has requested comment and confirmation from agencies and departments.
In addition to layoffs, about 75,000 federal employees accepted buyouts and left their positions before the cuts began.
Many of the initial terminations targeted probationary employees after Trump directed federal agencies to review the approximately 220,000 workers in probationary periods, typically lasting one to two years, and determine whether they should be dismissed.
Probationary employees include recent federal hires as well as long-serving workers who have changed positions, agencies, or received promotions. Some career government employees have also reported being laid off without warning.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Hundreds of staff at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, were fired Thursday, NOAA staff told Newsweek. Estimated cuts hit upward of 500 employees.
"These terminations are consequential, and we will see an immediate impact on NOAA's ability to deliver critical services to American individuals, corporations and communities," former NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad told Newsweek.
The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and the agency operates the National Weather Service, National Hurricane Center and several other programs that play vital roles in monitoring storms and ensuring public safety.
Many of those let go were federal employees on probationary status, however, some of the people who lost jobs had decades of experience in their fields of research.
Sarah Cooley directed NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program, which studies the effects of changes to the chemistry of seawater, something with substantial consequences for marine life and the fishermen who depend on them.
Cooley told Newsweek she had 25 years of professional experience. She was fired on Thursday.
"The strategy appears to be as much slash and burn as possible," Cooley said of the cuts to NOAA. "No one can pretend the goal is efficiency."
Personnel in NOAA's communications office did not respond Thursday evening to a request for comment. Emails to two NOAA communications officers resulted in automated replies indicating that they no longer worked there.
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Since Trump took office in January, the agency has faced scrutiny from the new administration, with Musk falsely calling it a "criminal organization" and claiming it's "time for it to die" as part of an effort to dismantle it.
Early on, the agency's website went dark and foreign contractors were essentially cut off. On Sunday, the Trump administration announced it's eliminating 2,000 positions and placing nearly all remaining staff worldwide on administrative leave.
USAID has drawn particular attention due to the global reach and range of operations, which includes handling epidemics, global food insecurities and education funding, playing a pivotal role in U.S. foreign policy.
The Associated Press reported that over 90 percent of USAID's foreign aid contracts are set to be cut.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
More than 1,000 VA employees were terminated in mid-February.
VA Secretary Doug Collins said on March 5 that the department plans to cut approximately 70,000 employees, reducing the workforce from about 470,000 to 398,000—a 15 percent decrease.
Disabled U.S. Army Veteran Luke Graziani told Newsweek he was abruptly terminated from his job in public affairs at the VA after receiving an email on February 13 evening.
The email, which was obtained by Newsweek, read: "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. For this reason, the Agency informs you that the Agency is removing you from your position with the Agency and the federal civil service effective February 13, 2025."
Graziani told Newsweek: "This was not a layoff. When you're laid off from a job, there's thing that happen... they talk to you about your leave that's been accrued," as well as the federal retirement plan, Thrift Savings Plan (TPS).
Another fired VA employee who was a Navy vet, previously told Newsweek he was "completely blindsided" by being terminated while on paternity leave.
Newsweek has previously reached out to the VA for comment and confirmation via email.
Department of Defense (DOD)
The Department of Defense, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, has terminated top employees who were not in probationary periods, including Judge Advocate Generals for the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as four-star Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
On February 21, the DOD said in a press release that they are expecting to "release" approximately 5,400 probational workers in an effort to reduce the Department's "civilian workforce by 5-8% to produce efficiencies and refocus the Department on the President's priorities and restoring readiness in the force."
The Pentagon referred Newsweek to the February 21 press release.
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
"As part of this effort, USDA has made the difficult decision to release about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees from the Forest Service. To be clear, none of these individuals were operational firefighters," a USDA spokesperson told Newsweek in an email. Original estimates of terminated USFS employees were around 3,400.
The spokesperson confirmed that "Released employees were probationary in status, many of whom were compensated by temporary IRA funding."
The Department's Chief Randy Moore emailed employees on February 26 that he was retiring from the top post after 45 years with the bureau.
In his "reflection" note, Moore addressed the current workforce shake-up, writing: "I have been silent these last few weeks because these decisions are being made at a level above our organization, and I was and am learning about the changes the same time as many of you."
He concluded, "The workforce will continue to be unsettled for a while."
Annelise Waling told Newsweek earlier this month that she was "heartbroken and devastated" about her termination notice. "I felt pretty angry because all of us were fired based on the grounds of poor performance, which I totally have no record of," said Waling, a two-year probationary employee through the now-defunct Presidential Management Fellows program with the U.S. Forest Service. "I have very, very good performance reviews," she added.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The USDA let go of thousands of employees in mid-February. On March 4, it emerged that an independent federal board, Merit Systems Protection Board, ordered the department to temporarily reinstate more than 5,000 probationary employees for 45 days while an investigation into the legality of their termination is conducted.
National Park Service (NPS)
On February 14, the Associated Press reported that around 1,000 probationary NPS employees were fired. Newsweek has reached out to the NPS for confirmation via email on Friday.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
Around 200 CFPB employees have been estimated as cut, most of whom were not probationary employees. On February 11, the CFPB union identified around 73 probationary employees who were cut, with reports of between 70 and 100 career employees being terminated later that week. Reports noted that a team investigating financial products from major tech companies was dismissed.
In an order issued on February 14, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson directed the government to stop terminating CFPB employees, except for reasons related to performance or misconduct. She also prohibited the destruction or removal of the agency's data.
Newsweek has reached out to the CFPB for confirmation via email on Friday.
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
In the throes of tax season, the IRS is in the process of laying off at least 5,000 employees, multiple outlets have reported. Newsweek has reached out to the IRS for confirmation via email on Friday.
The central tax agency has also announced the closure of dozens of offices, across the U.S.
Health and Human Services (HHS)
HHS, which oversees key medical and scientific research agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has cut around 2,000 employees.
Newsweek has reached out to the HHS for confirmation via email on Friday.
Department of Education
Almost 40 people, if not more, have been fired from the Education Department, according to the Associated Press.
Newsweek has reached out to the Department of Education for confirmation via email on Friday.
Federal Aviation Administration
Around 400 FAA employees were terminated in mid-February.
"We protected roles that are critical to safety," Department of Transportation spokesperson Halee Dobbins said Wednesday.
"On the layoffs, these were probationary employees — meaning they had only been at the FAA for less than two years, represented less than 1% of FAA's more than 45,000 employees."
Department of Energy (DOE)
"Across the Energy Department, less than 700 probationary employees have been dismissed. These dismissal numbers pale in comparison to the total amount of positions the Biden administration hired over four years," a DOE spokesperson told Newsweek in an email on Friday.
Other outlets have estimated cuts between1,200 and 2,000 personnel. Upward of 300 were terminated from a nuclear weapons program, a move which is quickly rescinded.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
In mid-February, a DHS official said the agency cut 405 employees, with most layoffs coming from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Newsweek has reached out to the DHS for confirmation via email on Friday.
Department of Housing and Development (HUD)
Around 780 employees have been laid off from HUD according to CNN, however documents obtained by the Associated Press show that the department is considering cutting its workforce in half, impacting some 4,000 positions.
This is a developing article and will be updated with additional information.
Update 3/6/25, 11:02 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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