Page 6 - Layoff

US Judge finds mass firings of federal probationary workers to be unlawful

A federal judge in San Francisco on Thursday found that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely unlawful, granting temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that has sued to stop the Trump administration's massive dismantling of the federal workforce. US District Judge William Alsup ordered the Office of Personnel Management to inform certain federal agencies that it had no authority to order the firings of probationary employees, including at the Department of Defense. OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe, to hire or fire any employees but its own, Alsup said. The complaint filed by five labour unions and five nonprofit organizations is among multiple lawsuits pushing back on the administration's efforts to shrink a workforce that Trump has called bloated and sloppy. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and his administration is now aiming at career officials with

Mysuru layoffs: NITES threatens protest; Infosys defends testing norms

Pune-based IT workers union NITES on Wednesday said it will not hesitate to start a protest along with trainees, who were laid off recently by Infosys, if the government does not take "appropriate" action. Infosys said that every trainee joins with full understanding that performance evaluations are key part of their progress, and asserted that all eligible trainees (over 98 per cent) have received their relieving letter upon separation, along with outplacement services, severance pay, counselling, among other measures. Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) in a statement on Wednesday said, "...we will continue to stand with these employees until they receive the fairness and dignity they deserve. Today we are politely requesting the authorities for justice, but if the government will not take appropriate measures then NITES along with all the employees will not hesitate to start a massive protest outside Infosys campus." NITES emphasised it is imperative that ...

FDA to rehire probationary medical device staffers fired only days earlier

Barely a week after mass firings at the Food and Drug Administration, some probationary staffers received unexpected news over the weekend: The government wants them back. Beginning Friday night, FDA employees overseeing medical devices and other key areas received calls and emails notifying them that their recent terminations had been rescinded effective immediately, according to messages viewed by The Associated Press. Three FDA staffers impacted by the decisions spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity because they planned to continue working for the agency and weren't authorised to discuss its internal procedures. The reversal is the latest example of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk's chaotic approach to cost-cutting, which has resulted in several agencies firing, and then scrambling to rehire, employees responsible for nuclear weapons, national parks and other government services. The FDA reinstatements followed pushback by lobbyists for the medical device

Fired federal workers hunt for new jobs but struggle to replace old ones

HIRING: Park ranger. SEEKING: Nuclear submarine engineer. WANTED: Sled dog musher. If they seem unlikely postings, they probably are. But a laid-off federal worker can dream. Axed from jobs not easily found outside government, thousands of federal workers caught in President Donald Trump's cost-cutting efforts now face a difficult search for work. If you're doing, say, vegetation sampling and prescribed fire as your main work, there aren't many jobs, says Eric Anderson, 48, of Chicago, who was fired Feb. 14 from his job as a biological science technician at Indiana Dunes National Park. All the years of work Anderson put in - the master's degree, the urban forestry classes, the wildfire deployments - seemed to disappear in a single email dismissing him. He's hoping there's a chance he's called back, but if he isn't, he's not sure what he'll do next. He was so consumed with his firing that he broke a molar from grinding his teeth. But he knows he's caught in something larger than ..

Starbucks to layoff 1,100 corporate employees as coffee chain streamlines

Starbucks plans to lay off 1,100 corporate employees globally as new Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol streamlines operations. In a letter to employees released Monday, Niccol said the company will inform employees who are being laid off by mid-day Tuesday. Niccol said Starbucks is also eliminating several hundred open and unfilled positions. Our intent is to operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration, Niccol wrote in the letter. Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, but that includes some employees who aren't impacted, like roasting and warehouse staff. Baristas in the company's stores are not included in the layoffs. Niccol said in January that corporate layoffs would be announced by early March. He said all work must be overseen by someone who can make decisions while the the Seattle coffee giant reduces the complexity of its structure and eliminates silos within the company that slow communication. Our si

Trump admin slashes 1,600 USAID jobs, places direct hires on leave

A federal judge ruled in favour of placing thousands of USAID workers on leave, dealing a blow to unions alleging the cuts would dismantle the agency

FDA begins to rescind firings, calls some probationary staff back to work

Some of the calls were made to former employees in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, the office responsible for overseeing medical devices and digital health products

Musk's cost-cutting team cuts staff at auto safety regulator for Tesla

Elon Musk's cost-cutting team is eliminating jobs at the vehicle safety agency that oversees Tesla and has launched investigations into deadly crashes involving his company's cars. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cut a modest amount of positions, according to a statement from the agency. Musk has accused NHTSA of holding back progress on self-driving technology with its investigations and recalls. Asked about whether the cuts would impact any probes into Tesla, the agency referred to its statement that says it will enforce the law on all manufacturers of motor vehicles and equipment. The job cuts at NHTSA enacted by Musk's advisory group on shrinking the federal government, the Department of Government Efficiency, was earlier reported by The Washington Post. In addition to investigations into Tesla's partially automated vehicles, NHTSA has mandated that Tesla and other automakers using self-driving technology report crash data on vehicles, a requirement that

Meta raises executive bonuses to 200% amid layoffs, cost-cutting measures

The announcement to raise bonuses comes just a week after Meta began laying off 5 per cent of its workforce, a move the company attributed to targeting underperforming employees

TikTok layoffs staff at trust and safety unit as part of restructuring

Last year, the company laid off hundreds of employees from its global workforce, including a large number of staff in Malaysia as it shifts focus towards a greater use of AI in content moderation

IRS plans to lay off 7K probationary workers across US starting today

The IRS will lay off roughly 7,000 workers in Washington and around the country beginning on Thursday, a person familiar with the plans told AP. The layoffs affect probationary employees with roughly one year or less of service at the agency and largely include workers in compliance departments, according to the person, who was not authorised to disclose the plans and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday. Compliance work includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code, filing their returns and paying their taxes, among other duties. The layoffs are part of the Trump administration's intensified efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through the Department of Government Efficiency by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who have not yet gained civil service protection. They come despite IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season being told earlier this month that they would not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the ...

After recent layoffs, Infosys defers internal assessments for trainees

Close on the heels of an outcry over recent layoffs of more than 300 freshers in its Mysuru campus, Infosys has now postponed, by a week, internal assessments scheduled for trainees. The company has, however, asserted that the deferment is aimed at giving them additional time for preparation. IT employee union Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), meanwhile, claimed that the assessment meant for 800 trainees was postponed due to its intervention, "unwavering fight against unfair layoffs", as well as government action. Countering this, Infosys, in a statement, said it had not received any requests from the government or external parties to postpone assessments. "We are deferring our assessments by a week to provide additional preparation time for our trainees," Infosys said. Last week, the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services company had laid off over 300 freshers who underwent foundational training at its Mysuru campus but could not clear internal assessments aft

Trump begins firings of FAA staff just weeks after fatal DC plane crash

The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Probationary workers were targeted in late-night emails on Friday notifying them they had been fired, David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement. The impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told AP. The air traffic controller was not authorised to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. A Transportation Department official told AP late on Monday that no air traffic controllers were affected by the cuts, and that the agency has "retained employees who perform critical safety functions". In a follow-up query the agency said they would have to look into whether the radar, landing and ...

Judge to rule on effort to block DOGE from assessing data, firing employees

A federal judge on Monday questioned the authority of billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency but was sceptical of a request to block DOGE from accessing sensitive data and firing employees at half a dozen federal agencies. US District Judge Tanya Chutkan held a hearing on a request from 14 states for a temporary restraining order seeking to curtail Musk's power in President Donald Trump's quest to downsize the federal government. Chutkan said she would rule within 24 hours. Trump appointed Musk to lead DOGE in a push to slash the federal workforce and reduce or end disfavoured programmes. The administration dismissed probationary employees and Trump in an executive order told agency leaders to plan for "large-scale reductions". Democratic attorneys general from 14 states had filed a lawsuit challenging what they called Musk's "unchecked power". The states are seeking to block DOGE from firing employees and accessing data at the federal Office of Personnel

Bezos' Blue Origin bracing for large job cuts after years of expansion

The magnitude of the job cuts wasn't immediately clear, though one of the people said it will be at least in the hundreds of jobs and potentially reach one thousand or more employees

JPMorgan Chase begins one of several planned layoffs for 2025: Report

The layoffs are a part of the "regular management of the business", a spokesperson said, adding that the bank still has 14,000 open positions

President Trump directs federal job cuts as Musk defends downsizing

Agencies will be permitted to hire no more than one employee for every four workers leaving the government, the document said

Meta starts eliminating jobs in shift to find AI talent to dominate race

Meta workers who were let go were notified via email, and the company is offering US-based employees severance packages that include 16 weeks of salary, in addition two weeks for each year of service

Facebook owner Meta to carry out expected company-wide layoffs on Feb 10

Notices will go out to employees losing their jobs starting at 5 am local time Monday in most countries

Why Walmart is cutting scores of jobs, relocating employees to main offices

Last year, Walmart instructed employees in Dallas, Atlanta, and Toronto to relocate to larger hubs, with most transitioning to the company's headquarters in Bentonville