WashPost: PLEASE HELP US TELL THE PUBLIC WHAT THE IMPACT OF THE MASS FIRINGS WILL BE

Tens if not hundreds of thousands of federal employees are losing their jobs this week. As we at The Washington Post wrote here: GIFT LINK https://wapo.st/4gEW9CT

The new administration on Thursday moved swiftly to fire thousands of workers and directed agency heads to terminate most trial and probationary staff — a move that could affect as many as 200,000 employees, according to four people familiar with internal conversations who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

Agencies moved at lightning speed on Thursday to carry out the directive, according to interviews with dozens of federal employees and records obtained by The Washington Post. Thousands of workers were laid off in messages delivered through prerecorded videos and on group calls. Some were ordered to leave the building within 30 minutes. Others were told they would be formally fired by emails, which never arrived.

In a recorded video to probationary staff, agency director Charles Ezell said, “I understand that this may be unexpected and that this is difficult news,” according to the video obtained by The Post. A probationary employee watching on what became her last 30 minutes of employment muttered, “who is this guy?”

One agency, the Small Business Administration, listed a paralegal phone number for laid off employees to appeal their terminations. The number was an automated line for an apartment building. “Thank you for calling Westbrooke Place, a team that is dedicated to taking care of the way you live while offering you an extraordinary living experience,” a voice said after a reporter called the listed number. “We look forward to sharing why Westbrooke Place is the perfect place to call home.”

Now, we at The Washington Post are trying to help the American public understand the consequences of these mass firings, as they stretch from the Small Business Administration to the Education Department to the Energy Department to the Forest Service to so many others. If you were fired, or can speak to how the firings will affect the services the American government has for so long offered the American people — in public health, in scientific research, in law enforcement, amid natural disasters, in so many other areas — PLEASE GET IN TOUCH.

You can read our recent coverage here and see the kind of work we do at these links: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/emily-davies/ and https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/hannah-natanson/.

Hannah Natanson - [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and Signal (202) 580-5477

Emily Davies - [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and Signal (202) 412-9091