Silently, I Celebrate

DOGE America is setting an example that Canada must follow to reset its government institutions to better serve our heavily-taxed citizens efficiently and cost-effectively.

Trump Administration Fires Thousands of Government Workers

Written today by Zachary Stieber of The Epoch Times under the above title, the article begins with:

“The Trump administration fired thousands of workers across several government agencies after the deadline for employees to accept a buyout had passed.“

These terminations have occurred across different federal bureaucracies with the promise of more to come.

The Department of Agriculture, for example, announced on Feb. 14 that it is “eliminating positions that are no longer necessary” as part of “an aggressive plan” to optimize its workforce. “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,” a letter sent to terminated employees stated.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) officials met with officials from other agencies to advise them to lay off probationary employees, many of whom have been with the government for less than a year. About 217,000 federal employees had been with the government for less than one year as of March 2024, the last month for which data were available, out of the full-time workforce of about 2.3 million.

Trump has said that getting rid of government workers “is a big tremendous saving” and that his administration wants not just a “downsized government”, but a better one.

The pushback

Unions, advocacy groups, and lawmakers have criticized the terminations, arguing that they unnecessarily undercut important government work.

I doubt that those who have been doing “important government work” would be deemed unnecessary. I never met a manager who wanted to terminate a valued employee.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said on social media platform X: “I share the administration’s goal of reducing the size of the federal government, but this approach is bringing confusion, anxiety, and now trauma to our civil servants—some of whom moved their families and packed up their whole lives to come here”.

Bounce back

It’s hard to have much sympathy for dismissed civil servants when untold numbers on non-government workers lost their jobs, businesses and life savings due to past government policies under which they fell victim.

Yes, it’s a sad moment when someone receives a letter of employment termination.

One thing I’ve learned after a 36-year as a professional recruiter, however, is that anyone who has a solid work history with a productive employment track record and good references has nothing to worry about. They usually land in their feet quickly.