The firings come as agencies across government are purging employees in their probationary status from their rolls. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
OPM fires its own probationary period staff
Employees’ physical and IT system access was deactivated at 3 p.m. ET on Thursday. On-site staff were also asked to quickly exit the Office of Personnel Management’s premises.
Updated on Feb. 13 at 7:41 p.m.
Recent hires at the Office of Personnel Management were terminated on Thursday afternoon, according to three people familiar with the matter and internal communications obtained by Government Executive.
The firings come as agencies across government are purging employees in their probationary status from their rolls and the Trump administration is deploying a bevy of tools to slash their workforces.
On President Trump’s first day in office, OPM instructed agencies across government to collect names of probationary employees. Those workers typically were hired within the last one-to-two years, depending on their hiring mechanism. Agencies have since gathered lists of those employees and delivered them to OPM, and some subsequently sent notices to staff reminding them of their status and their vulnerability to rapid firings.
Recent hires in probationary status do not maintain the same protections against firings as do most other federal workers, though they can still appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board if they allege the firings took place for partisan political reasons.
Earlier this week, OPM convened a call with federal agencies’ general counsels and instructed them not to pursue widespread firings of probationary period workers. Instead, OPM said, they should terminate only such workers that they have deemed poor performers.
Still, the dismissals have taken place on a widespread basis at least at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Small Business Administration, Education Department, General Services Administration and, now, OPM itself.
Around 250 employees at OPM were hired within the last year, according to government data. An exact number of people terminated Thursday could not be immediately determined.
“The agency finds, based on your performance, that you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest,” acting Director Charles Ezell wrote in a termination notice sent to impacted employees that was obtained by Government Executive. “For this reason, the agency informs you that effective at the close of business today (Feb. 13, 2025), you are being terminated from your position with the agency and the federal civil service during your trial period.”
On an internal call and meeting with probationary employees on Thursday afternoon, an unidentified OPM official told impacted workers they would lose physical and IT systems access at 3 p.m. Thursday. Employees present in the office were given little time to pack up their personal belongings and exit OPM’s building, which they also had to do by 3 p.m., according to a recording of the meeting Government Executive obtained.
“This is a difficult conversation,” the person said. “And I want to be direct, while also ensuring that you have all the information and support that you need.”
Employees were told to leave any government equipment on their desks before they left, while those not in the office will be sent a box with instructions to return those items.
“I know that this is not the outcome that you had hoped for, but I encourage you to use this as an opportunity for your next step forward,” the person said. “I appreciate your cooperation as we move through this process.”
OPM on Thursday also shuttered its communications office and placed all employees on administrative leave, including its web team, according to two sources familiar with the moves.
OPM has been recently embroiled in at least a dozen lawsuits raised by people concerned about alleged privacy violations brought by the agency and staffers working in it under Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. One involves a dubious email system used to notify federal workers of a deferred resignation offer that the Trump administration has invoked as part of an effort to reduce the size of the government.
The Trump administration is also seeking to downsize the federal workforce by offering early retirements, seeking to shut down some agencies entirely and threatening widespread layoffs. On Tuesday, Trump issued an executive order requiring agencies to, once his hiring freeze is lifted, onboard just one new employee for every four who leave and to plan for significant reductions in force.
This story was updated with additional information about OPM's communications team.