The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been hit with a wave of terminations, with at least a dozen probationary staffers let go last week, according to sources familiar with the matter. This move is seen as one of the first signs of cuts at the agency, and it follows a familiar playbook of indiscriminate cuts targeting probationary employees.

The terminations, which took place across the agency, affected both the Bureau of Consumer Protection and Bureau of Competition. While the exact reason behind the terminations is unclear, sources did not rule out the possibility that they were linked to actions by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The FTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This development is significant, as it marks one of the first times during the current Trump administration that the FTC has been impacted by staffing cuts of this scope. Republican FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson has largely aligned himself with Trump, but the cuts suggest that the agency may not be immune to broader changes to government staffing. The extent of these changes remains unclear, but they have sparked concerns among federal workers.

In response to the terminations, the FTC chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union acknowledged the development in an email to members last week. The union expressed its awareness of the terminations but did not know their full scope. The email also outlined ongoing legal efforts by the national organization, including the filing of claims at the Office of Special Counsel of the Merit Systems Protection Board, as well as institutional grievances at each agency where probationary employees have been terminated.

The FTC union website now hosts a similar notice, providing guidance to terminated employees on their next steps. This move comes on the heels of reports that the FTC's internal equal opportunity office had been cut from six to three staffers. Last month, Ferguson had declared that "DEI is Over at the FTC" and said he had "Terminated the Diversity Council" at the agency. However, the scope of the recent probationary terminations appears distinct from these directives.

In related news, FTC staff in Washington were informed by DOGE that they would soon be moving into the building being vacated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). This development, reported by Bloomberg, follows DOGE's effective dismantling of USAID.

The terminations at the FTC are part of a broader trend of staffing cuts across the federal government, driven in part by DOGE's efforts to streamline government agencies. As the full extent of these cuts becomes clearer, federal workers and policymakers alike will be watching closely to see how they impact the functioning of key government agencies.

Are you a current or former US federal government worker with insights into the impact of these cuts? Reach out securely with tips from a non-work device to Lauren Feiner via Signal at laurenfeiner.64.