Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs The ongoing effort by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE operation to slash the federal workforce, including laying off thousands of probationary employees, will have “real consequences” for regular Americans, one fired staffer told Newsweek.The former probationary Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employee, who requested anonymity in fear of reprisal, said she received a letter Saturday indicating she was no longer “fit for continued employment” since her “ability, knowledge and skills” no longer matched the agency’s needs. Her job performance as associate chief counsel had been deemed “inadequate,” she said, despite exceeding expectations since being hired in August 2023.
A protester outside of the U.S. Department of Labor on February 5 criticizes billionaire Elon Musk, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump who has been tasked with eliminating government waste.
A protester outside of the U.S. Department of Labor on February 5 criticizes billionaire Elon Musk, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump who has been tasked with eliminating government waste.
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“It’s pretty bonkers,” the 50-year-old woman told Newsweek in an interview. “I kind of knew it was coming over the last two weeks, so I got out a lot of my tears.”The February 14 termination letter confirmed her worst fears, ending her two-year probationary employment effective March 14, according to the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) memo obtained by Newsweek. HHS oversees the FDA.She’s now on administrative leave and will be paid through next month, but worries about her finding her next position amid the massive turnover of federal workers.”I still had hope,” she said. “I was planning for the worst, but still hoping for the best because I was hearing about other agencies that were being targeted and I thought that being at the FDA would give me some sort of insulation because of the really important public health work that we do, that we would somehow be spared. But that’s not the case.”It’s unclear how many federal workers were terminated in the FDA purge, but mass firings at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also began on Friday, just weeks after a fatal midair collision in Washington and mounting concerns over air traffic control staffing shortages.Probationary periods for federal employees typically last up to a year, though some go as long as two years. More than 220,000 federal employees have been in their positions for less than a year, while another 288,000 worked at their respective agencies for one to two years, federal data shows.Messages seeking comment from the FDA and the Office of Personnel Management were not immediately returned Tuesday.Food Safety Specialists PurgedThe fired FDA attorney, who worked for the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, said the agency’s fired employees included some from its Human Foods Program, which oversees food safety and nutrition in the U.S.”To be firing people who work on the frontlines of that kind of stuff is just insanity,” she said. “I can’t figure out what’s going on.”
Protesters target billionaire Elon Musk outside of the U.S. Department of Labor near the U.S. Capitol on February 5 as government agencies cull employees in an effort to improve efficiency.
Protesters target billionaire Elon Musk outside of the U.S. Department of Labor near the U.S. Capitol on February 5 as government agencies cull employees in an effort to improve efficiency.
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The former federal employee, who lives in Maryland with her husband, was fired despite having performance evaluations in January 2024 and 2025 that indicated she “exceeded expectations,” she said.Her salary, in excess of $125,000, also did not come from congressional appropriations or taxpayer funds, but rather through fees assessed to the tobacco industry, she added.”We’re not paid by the budget,” she said. “Firing us didn’t save taxpayers a dime. It seems so arbitrary and baseless, not to mention I have these great performance reviews.”The woman, who previously worked to regulate tobacco products, said she’s now considering legal action while searching for her next job.”I was a year and a half into it, so obviously they had invested in my training,” she said. “I had been through two performance reviews, and I was working independently.”But she’s now forced to find a new job in a “tight” market that will be rife with other newly terminated federal employees, she said.”I keep telling myself I’m going to be OK, but I’m still also nervous,” she said. “Getting the job at the FDA took well over six months for that process to take place. Am I going to be looking for a job for six months?”
The former FDA attorney said she had already applied for several private sector jobs to no avail so far.”I’ve already been rejected outright for, like, six applications,” she said. “I’m qualified, so I don’t know what that means … I’m in a weird spot.”The “sweeping firings” have significant real-life repercussions and will likely negatively impact morale among all federal workers, she noted.”People are so focused on just reducing numbers that they forget that the consequences are going to be significant,” she said. “The ripple effects of this are going to be significant and I don’t think people really grasp that. I’m afraid for the future. Where are we going to be six months from now?”The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents federal employees across 37 agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, filed a lawsuit last week asking a judge to declare the mass firings as unlawful.”The American people will suffer from the loss of the important government services these workers provide,” NTEU President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement. “We will not stand idly by while this administration takes illegal actions that will harm citizens, federal employees and the economy.”Navy Vet and Father of 3 Among Those FiredAnother fired federal worker, a Department of Veterans Affairs employee, said he was “completely blindsided” by being terminated while on paternity leave.”And that was supposed to last until March 14,” he told Newsweek. “So, I had no idea.”
Exterior shot of Department of Veterans Affairs sign in Washington DC, July 21, 2019.
Exterior shot of Department of Veterans Affairs sign in Washington DC, July 21, 2019.
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The 35-year-old father of three from Pennsylvania, who also requested anonymity, said he lost his job as a program and management analyst via an email sent out last week.”I received the email the night of February 13 and the email said I was terminated as of February 13,” he said. “I had no idea it was coming until it actually happened.”The fired VA worker, who has been a Navy reserve sailor for 17 years, said he started at the agency in 2015 but began a new job last April, kicking off his two-year probationary period. He has since been locked out of department’s computers and from accessing his own personnel records, he said.The Department of Veterans Affairs announced Thursday more than 1,000 employees had been dismissed, equating to savings in excess of $98 million annually to be redirected toward health care, benefits and other services, officials said.VA officials said the terminations were part of the Trump administration’s effort to make federal agencies more efficient, but the move took many by surprise, the fired veteran told Newsweek.”Completely high and dry,” he said. “I don’t know what my last paycheck looks like, I don’t even know if I’m getting a severance package, and I have over 700 hours of sick and vacation time. I still have a month left on my paternity leave — I don’t know anything about that. There’s been no communication about anything.”
