Mass layouts make over 200,000 government employees

Almost all employees affected in trial period

Up to 200,000 jobs: massive wave of discharge under Trump

The Trump administration has triggered a massive wave of layoffs in the civil service. It is assumed by over 200,000 affected people.

The Trump administration released several thousand employees from the civil service in one fell swoop on Thursday. All heads of the country have been instructed to relieve almost all employees during the trial period. Citing persons familiar with the processes, the “New York Times” and the “Washington Post” report that over 200,000 employees could be affected by the drastic reduction measures.

How many people will actually be released is currently unclear. Everett Kelley, chairman of the “American Association for Government Agency”, already announced that they will defend themselves against the layoffs and also check legal steps.

Meanwhile, the measures are rapid. Apparently, the authorities follow the instructions of the Trump government without hesitation. According to the “Washington Post”, several thousand government employees were released shortly after the news. The instructions for the dismissals were ordered by the Authority for Personnel Management. At the same time, however, this is also affected by the measure.

The terminations were often made via videos or group calls recorded in advance. Some affected people were instructed to leave government buildings within 30 minutes, others were only informed that formal termination would follow – which, according to the employees surveyed by the “Washington Post”, never happened.

Dozens of employees on a trial period, the information that they have never received negative feedback on their work received emails in which their performance was suddenly criticized. The news said that they “did not prove that their further employment at the authority would be in the public interest”. These formulations emerge from the correspondence that the “Washington Post” has.

The wave of discharge follows a new cost reduction initiative by President Donald Trump. He commissioned Elon Musk to lead the newly created “Department of Government Efficiency” (Doge). The main task of this new authority is to identify inefficient departments, to delete unnecessary areas and thus reduce bureaucracy. A few weeks ago, around two million employees of state authorities received a notification of the Doge with the offer of continued payment by September – provided that they cancel themselves.

Since the employees now affected enjoy a lower protection against dismissal due to their trial period, observers assume that there will be no comparable severance payment in these cases. Rather, the two newspapers report that it can be assumed without notice.

Max Stier, managing director of the non -governmental organization “Partnership for the Public Service”, sharply criticizes the mass layoffs. He warns that the country is “lost a completely new generation of talented workers for the government”. It is particularly tragic that the layoffs were not based on “lack of performance”, but simply that these employees are “easier to get rid of”.

How many employees in which authorities will be affected is not yet exactly quantified. However, it is clear that numerous authorities are involved and that the dismissed employees try to defend themselves against the measures.

There are also numerous lawsuits against the controversial quasi-authority of Doge. They all deal with the non-transparent personnel policy, the lack of democratic control and the extremely far-reaching powers of these alleged de-bureaucratization authority. At the same time, there were demonstrations against the cuts in several major cities.