EPA fires nearly 400 workers after OPM order

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fired nearly 400 employees after a directive from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The EPA told The Hill in a written statement that it has “terminated” 388 probationary employees — meaning workers who started working at the agency within the past year.

It said the firings came “after a thorough review of agency functions in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders.”

“EPA has followed standard protocols and procedures, ensuring impacted staff received notification of their status. President Trump was elected with a mandate to create a more effective and efficient federal government that serves all Americans, and we are doing just that,” the statement said.

The agency originally said it fired 497 workers but later said that was inaccurate and the actual total was 388.

The move comes after the OPM instructed agency leaders to fire nearly all probationary employees, impacting as many as 200,000 people in total, as The Hill reported Thursday.

“The probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment,” an OPM spokesperson said in a statement.

“Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard.”

The announcement from EPA comes after the agency announced that it was placing about 170 staffers who worked in its environmental justice office on leave, citing Trump's executive order that directs all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) staff to be put on leave. These staffers helped the agency deal with pollution in overburdened communities — including communities of color.

The EPA has more than 15,000 total staffers, meaning the latest firings impacted around 3 percent of its total workforce.

Updated at 5:29 p.m. EST

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