The Trump administration has ramped up efforts to implement significant workforce reductions across various federal agencies, with employees recently informed about impending layoffs. Agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Agriculture are among those affected, as President Trump collaborates with billionaire Elon Musk to advance a strategy aimed at reducing government expenditures and reforming federal operations.

The current focus of the administration targets an estimated 200,000 probationary employees who lack the same job protections offered to many other federal workers. On Friday, the EPA announced the termination of 388 probationary staff members. Laura Gentile, a spokesperson for the agency, stated, “President Trump was elected with a mandate to create a more effective and efficient federal government that serves all Americans, and we are doing just that.”

Notably, major layoffs also occurred at the Department of Energy, which initiated job cuts on Thursday. According to sources close to the situation, roughly 1,000 federal employees at this department, all of whom were probationary workers, were notified of their job losses. Three individuals familiar with the layoffs shared insights on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.

Among those affected, over 300 were employed by the National Nuclear Security Administration, responsible for overseeing the nation’s nuclear arsenal, while approximately 50 worked within the department’s loan programs office, which facilitates the commercialization of new energy technologies. The firings sparked confusion within the agency, as reports surfaced later Friday night indicating that at least some laid-off employees from the National Nuclear Security Administration were instructed to return to their roles, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.

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