By Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Layoffs at the U.S. General Services Administration, the agency which manages the federal government’s real estate portfolio, began on Wednesday, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The layoffs affect probationary employees, who are being called up individually and pressured into either resigning or facing being put on leave and then terminated, two of the three people said. Two of the sources said that more than 100 people were affected.
In a statement, GSA said that, “From the beginning of this administration, GSA’s leadership has been committed to supporting the administration’s initiatives to right size the federal workforce” and that the agency “remains committed to ensuring a respectful and dignified process for our agency personnel during this transformation.”
The GSA oversees most government contracts, manages federal property, and oversees several basic federal government functions. The Technology Transformation Services division is responsible for FedRAMP, which sets cybersecurity standards for government contractors, and Login.gov, which ordinary citizens use to access their Social Security statements online.
Along with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), GSA was one of the earliest agencies targeted by billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to oversee the so-called Department of Government Efficiency aimed at dramatically reducing the size of the federal workforce.
Trump administration officials have previously indicated that probationary employees – those employed by the government for less than one or two years – are first in line for cuts. On Tuesday, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sent termination notices to as many as 70 probationary staff members.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter and AJ Vicens; editing by Diane Craft)
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