Trump and Musk's Budget Efficiency, US Mass Layoffs of Government Employees

WASHINGTON, FRIDAY — The administration of President Donald Trump has begun the dismissal of government employees in federal agencies of the United States (US). This step is part of a bureaucratic cleanup for budget efficiency.

US President Donald Trump is targeting the dismissal of up to 2.3 million federal government employees in the US to save state finances. As an initial step, the first target for cuts are employees who are still in their probationary period with less than one year of service.

However, several government institutions have also received notifications of mass layoffs in their institutions for the next phase.

The order for termination of employment (PHK) came from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which functions as the human resources department for the federal government, on Thursday (13/2/2025) local time or early Friday WIB.

The order and notification of the layoffs were confirmed by a source who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.

The move is expected to be the first in a series of massive layoffs of government workers in the Trump era.

On Tuesday (11/2/3025), Trump signed an executive order to inform the leaders of federal government agencies to plan for large-scale workforce reductions.

Even Elon Musk, who has been given broad leeway by Trump to cut government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), instead called for the abolition of all federal agencies on Thursday.

"I think we need to remove the entire agency, instead of letting it be," said Musk via video teleconference to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. "If we do not uproot the weeds, then the weeds will easily grow back," he added.

The mass layoffs at several US government agencies have been confirmed by labor unions and employees who are aware of the layoffs.

Layoff notices have been sent by email in the past 48 hours to a large number of probationary government workers at the Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the General Services Administration, which runs many federal buildings.

One of the agencies whose employees were laid off was the Office of Personnel Management, which handles human resources for the U.S. government. All probationary staff at the agency were fired in a group call on Thursday.

According to information received by the Reuters news agency, they were asked to leave the agency's headquarters in Washington by 3 p.m. at the latest.

OPM officials also met with other government agencies on Thursday, where they advised federal agencies to lay off their probationary employees, with some exceptions.

All probationary staff at the Office of Personnel Management were fired in a group call Thursday. They were told to leave the agency's Washington headquarters by 3 p.m.

Trump and Musk's shakeup of the federal government also extends to the US federal tax collection agency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Musk’s people began working at the US tax agency for the first time this week, while US embassies have been told to prepare for staff cuts.

"You have been deemed unfit to continue working because your abilities, knowledge, and skills do not match current needs. Your performance has not been adequate to continue further work," reads the termination letter from the US federal government's small business office, the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The termination letters were sent to at least 45 employees who were on probation at the SBA.

In addition to the SBA, a similar letter was also sent to the Department of Education to 160 new employees. The letter stated that their continued employment would not benefit the public interest.

Trump has repeatedly called for the abolition of the Education Department during his presidential campaign. On Wednesday, he called the department a con job and reiterated his intention to shut it down.

It’s unclear how many domestic federal workers will lose their jobs in the first wave of layoffs, which fulfill Trump’s pledge to shrink the size of the federal government and root out the “black market.”

The term “dark state” is Trump’s reference to a group of bureaucrats he considers not loyal enough to him.

At the General Services Agency (GSA), about 100 probationary employees have received layoff letters. One new GSA employee said he received notice last week that he will be laid off on Friday of this week. He said he still has a month left until his probationary period ends.

The firing came as a surprise because he had received excellent performance reviews. "Until two weeks ago, this was a dream job. Now, it's a nightmare. I have young children and a mortgage to pay," the worker said.

According to U.S. government data, about 280,000 civilian government workers were hired less than two years ago. Most are still on probation.

Musk did not respond to a request for comment. An OPM spokesman said the layoffs were in line with new government policy.

"The Trump administration is encouraging agencies to use the probationary period for what it is intended to be, as an extension of the job application process, not as part of the process to earn the right to permanent employment," an OPM spokesperson said.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said about 75,000 workers have signed up for early retirement, or about 3 percent of the U.S. civil service.

The deadline to accept the offer expired Wednesday night. Asked why workers weren’t given more time so more would take it, Leavitt said he wasn’t sure the number would reach the target.

Trump has tasked Musk and his team at DOGE with cutting 2.3 million federal civil servants.

To that end, Musk has sent DOGE members into at least 16 government agencies. They accessed government computer systems containing sensitive personnel and financial information of employees. This was followed by the firing of workers.

Information obtained by Reuters, Gavin Kliger, one of the main staff at DOGE, arrived at the IRS on Thursday. This is the first time a Musk aide has entered the IRS. The tax collection agency has long been a target of the Republican Party.

The Trump-backed party accused the Biden administration of using the IRS as a weapon to target small businesses and middle-class Americans with unnecessary audits.

The reshuffling of the Trump administration has caused panic among thousands of federal workers in the US capital. They are worried about being the next targets of layoffs.

Trump has persisted with the layoffs despite lawsuits and criticism from Democratic attorneys general and unions, who say the move is more political than simply a budget-saving measure, as he claims.

Trump said the federal government is too fat and is eating into the budget because it is too wasteful and has too many fraudulent jobs.

A group of U.S. state attorneys general are suing DOGE to stop Musk’s efforts to cut federal spending. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, DC.

The lawsuit, filed by attorneys general in New Mexico and 13 other states, accuses Trump of giving Musk unfettered legal authority without authorization from the U.S. Congress.

The new lawsuit alleges Musk was illegally appointed. It seeks to bar Musk from taking further action against the administration.

"Without realizing the threat he poses to the country, President Trump has delegated virtually unchecked authority to Musk without proper legal authorization from Congress and without meaningful oversight of his activities," the lawsuit said.

Musk, who was born in South Africa, has been called an agent of chaos for the administration. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Previously, Musk and DOGE have been hit with several lawsuits regarding privacy violations over their access to government computer systems.

Two federal judges in the DOGE privacy case will deliberate Friday on whether DOGE can have access to the Treasury Department’s payment systems and potentially sensitive data at U.S. health, consumer protection and labor agencies.

In Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer will consider a request by the Democratic state attorney general to extend a temporary block on DOGE that he imposed last Saturday.

The order blocks Musk's team from accessing Treasury systems related to a trillion-dollar U.S. payments system. The lawsuit alleges that Musk's team lacks the legal authority to access a payments system that contains sensitive personal information on millions of Americans.

The lawsuit also alleges that Musk and his team could disrupt federal funding for health clinics, preschools, climate initiatives and other programs. Trump could also use the information to further his political agenda.

In Washington, U.S. District Judge John Bates will consider the union’s request to prevent the DOGE team from accessing sensitive records at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Most of Trump’s legally challenged initiatives have been blocked by the courts. Musk and other Trump allies have responded by calling for the impeachment of the judges involved. Trump has said he will comply with court orders.

Although some initiatives have been blocked by the courts, the Trump administration has pressed ahead with mass layoffs of government workers. Trump has also cut U.S. foreign aid programs. (Reuters/AP)