(The Hill) — More than 1,000 employees at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) were notified last week that they may be subject to immediate firing, according to an email obtained by The Hill.
The email, sent Wednesday by EPA mission support official Kimberly Patrick, notifies impacted employees that they are “likely on a probationary/trial period.”
“As a probationary/trial period employee, the agency has the right to immediately terminate you,” the email says.
Nicole Cantello, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local Local 704, which represents EPA employees in the Midwest, said that more than 1,000 employees nationwide received the email.
Cantello said she fears that this is a “prelude” to firing newer workers who have less than a year of federal service.
“We’re really concerned, deeply concerned, that the next step will be removing these employees,” she said.
The email comes after about 2 million federal employees received offers for a “buyout” to leave government work.
The EPA’s website says that it employs more than 15,000 people.
Cantello said she feared that between the buyout and the potential dismissal of newer staffers, the agency could lose one-tenth of its personnel, which would “decimate the agency.”
“These people work on things like getting the lead out of pipes or enforcing environmental laws like the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act. They work on things like Brownfields, which turn contaminated land into usable land. They work on Superfund sites, which cleans up toxic pollution,” she said.
“American people will really suffer if we don’t keep these people on the clock,” she added.
EPA spokespeople did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment. However, spokesperson Molly Vaseliou told The New York Times that “ultimately, the goal is to create a more effective and efficient federal government that serves all Americans.”
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin told reporters last week that anyone who isn’t committed to following Trump’s directives shouldn’t work at the agency.
He predicted that there would be “a headcount reduction in agencies all across the federal government.”
