AFGE says it will fight mass federal firings, refuting ‘performance’ claims

American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said the federal worker union would fight mass firings of government employees Thursday, calling the Trump administration’s actions a politically driven abuse of the probationary period.

His statement comes after reports that probationary employees were going to be or already had been fired from agencies, including the General Services Administration and the Office of Personnel Management. In his statement, Kelley refuted claims that employees were fired for poor performance, saying “there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants.”

In response to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for OPM said “the probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment. Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard.”

News of the mass firings of probationary employees was first reported by Federal News Network and later reported by others, including the Washington Post.

At OPM specifically, probationary workers were notified that their employment would be terminated during a Microsoft Teams call Thursday. That meeting began at roughly 2:30 p.m. Eastern and lasted less than five minutes, according to two sources who were on the call and a recording obtained by FedScoop. On the call, OPM acting Director Charles Ezell told employees that they would receive emails notifying them of their termination “shortly.” A copy of the invite for that meeting viewed by FedScoop showed that it was sent to over 90 people.

Ezell said that employees’ physical and IT access would be shut off by 3 p.m. Eastern and they would be asked to leave the building at that time — roughly 30 minutes after the start of the call, according to the recording and the sources. 

Employees were then emailed a letter from Ezell that stated: “based on your performance … you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the Agency would be in the public interest,” according to copies of that letter viewed by FedScoop.

Both former probationary employees FedScoop spoke to, however, said they received high marks in their performance reviews.

One of those probationary employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said that they took a pay cut to join the federal government and wanted to serve the American people. That former IT worker also said they voted for President Donald Trump in 2024 and that they now regretted their decision.

Prior to the 2:30 p.m. call, workers had been invited to an earlier Teams call that was silent for roughly 30 minutes. On that first call, the sources said someone shared that they were trying to reach out to the union and then employees’ microphone and chat functions were disabled. The second call where Ezell gave remarks was in the format of a webinar, the sources said.

The terminations weren’t limited to probationary employees. The career communications team at the agency was also dissolved Thursday, according to a former senior OPM official and a former employee on the communications team who was fired.

A copy of an email sent to one of those employees viewed by FedScoop was titled “RIF Notice and Administrative Leave Instructions.” Similar to the instructions to probationary workers, it also instructed people to pack up and leave.

The move comes after agencies, such as GSA, braced for terminations. FedScoop reported that GSA planned to cut the majority of its U.S. Digital Corps — a program for early career technologists who are stationed throughout the federal government to assist agencies with cybersecurity, design, product management, software, and data science and analytics.

Prior to the terminations, some employees took an option offered by the Trump administration for “deferred resignation.” That offer, which came from OPM last month and was titled “Fork in the Road,” gave employees an option to indicate they wanted to leave the government and have their resignation become effective Sept. 30. In the meantime, they would still receive pay and benefits and be exempted from in-person work requirements. 

The original deadline to accept was Feb. 6, though it was paused while a lawsuit over its legality  moved forward. That pause to the deadline ended Wednesday evening when a court found the unions that brought the case, including AFGE, lacked standing to bring the suit.

According to OPM, the final number of workers who accepted the offer was roughly 75,000.

In his statement about the terminations Thursday, Kelley said the firings are eliminating talent the government spent years acquiring.

“AFGE will fight these firings every step of the way. We will stand with every impacted employee, pursue every legal challenge available, and hold this administration accountable for its reckless actions,” Kelley said. “Federal employees are not disposable, and we will not allow the government to treat them as such.”