Mass firings at multiple US government agencies are underway as President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk fast-track their purge of America's federal bureaucracy, union sources and employees familiar with the layoffs told Reuters on Thursday.

Scores of government employees, mostly recently hired and still on probation, have received termination emails in the last 48 hours from the Education Department, the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages many federal buildings.

On Thursday, it remained unclear how many government employees would lose their jobs in the initial round of layoffs. However, the action meets Trump's promise to shrink the size of the federal government and eliminate the "deep state", a reference to officials he believes are not sufficiently loyal to him.

"The Agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge, and skills do not fit the current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment with the Agency," letters written to at least 45 probationers at the SBA said.

Letters to at least 160 recent Education Department personnel, obtained by Reuters, informed them that their continuing employment "would not be in the public interest."

During his presidential campaign, Trump regularly advocated for the dissolution of the Education Department.

On Wednesday, he labeled it a "con job" and stated that he wanted it closed.

According to two sources familiar with the firings, the GSA issued termination letters to around 100 probationary staffers on Wednesday.

According to government data, over 280,000 civilian government workers were employed less than two years ago, with the majority still on probation.

Musk & Trump: A power play or business bonanza?

A new article by the Financial Times highlights Elon Musk’s expanding role at the heart of the US government, which has sparked criticism and raised concerns that it could benefit his businesses while disadvantaging competitors.

Musk’s six companies already benefit from approximately $20 billion in government contracts, in addition to multiple subsidies. The billionaire has insisted these contracts were awarded on merit and have delivered value for taxpayers. However, after donating more than $250 million to Donald Trump’s 2024 re-election campaign, Musk now leads a cost-cutting initiative across federal agencies—including those that have previously investigated or penalized his companies, Tesla and SpaceX.

The aggressive push by Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash federal spending has largely unfolded on X, where he frequently highlights what he deems wasteful government expenditures. Major Trump administration announcements are now made on the platform, which Musk also uses to attack critics.