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Antitrust Staff Among Those Laid Off in FTC Workforce Reduction

By  |  March 4, 2025
Antitrust Staff Among Those Laid Off in FTC Workforce Reduction

At least a dozen probationary employees at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) were dismissed last week, according to The Verge, including antitrust staff. The terminations spanned multiple divisions within the agency, including the Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Bureau of Competition, per sources familiar with the matter. While no direct link has been established between these firings and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the move aligns with previous DOGE-driven cuts that have targeted probationary employees across federal agencies.

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    Per The Verge, the FTC has largely been insulated from widespread staffing reductions during the current Trump administration, even as DOGE has spearheaded mass layoffs throughout the federal government. However, the recent terminations indicate that the agency may not be immune to broader restructuring efforts. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, a Republican aligned with Trump, has supported administrative changes, yet the extent of future cuts remains uncertain.

    In an internal email obtained by The Verge, the FTC chapter of the National Treasury Employees Union acknowledged awareness of the terminations but noted uncertainty regarding the full extent of the reductions. The email outlined ongoing legal efforts by the national organization, including claims filed with the Office of Special Counsel and the Merit Systems Protection Board, as well as institutional grievances at affected agencies. The FTC union’s website has since published a similar notice, providing guidance for terminated employees on next steps.

    Read more: Trump-Appointed FTC Chair Launches Task Force on Labor Market Competition

    According to The Washington Post, the FTC’s internal equal opportunity office was also recently reduced from six to three staffers. This follows Ferguson’s declaration last month that “DEI is Over at the FTC,” along with the termination of the agency’s Diversity Council. However, the scope of the latest terminations appears to be separate from these initiatives.

    Meanwhile, per Bloomberg, FTC staff in Washington were informed last week that they would soon relocate to the building formerly occupied by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which DOGE has largely dismantled.

    Source: The Verge