The National Science Foundation fired 168 employees Tuesday as part of a broader Trump administration push to downsize the federal workforce.
The research-funding agency “has released 168 employees from Federal service effective today. We thank these employees for their service to NSF and their contributions to advance the agency mission,” agency spokesperson Mike England said Tuesday in an email.
Those staffers were all “probationary employees,” England said.
The firings of probationary staffers come as part of a broader push across the administration to terminate government workers who are within a probationary period of their employment. Those recent hires are easier to fire than longer-tenured employees. Some longtime federal employees also fall under probationary status when they switch jobs or receive a promotion.
