WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday directed federal agencies to lay off almost all probationary workers, a continuation of its extensive efforts to massively reduce the federal workforce.

White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) officials met with agency leaders across the federal government and directed them to begin firing employees still in their probationary period.

Newly hired federal employees are usually placed on a probationary period of one to two years.

According to a report by the Hill, the move could affect as many as 200,000 federal employees. The report also cited a source familiar with OPM, saying there could be "some exceptions."

The latest move came two days after Trump signed an executive order to further advance a large-scale reduction of the federal workforce, requiring each agency to hire "no more than one employee for every four employees that depart."

The ratio "shall not apply to functions related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement," the order noted. The order does not apply to military personnel.

The OPM recently announced a "buyout" offer, which gives roughly eight months of salary to federal workers who opt to leave their jobs. However, the office said that for those who decide to remain in their current positions, it could not offer "assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency."

Roughly 77,000 employees have already agreed to resign as part of the Trump administration's effort to reduce the government workforce, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. That accounts for about four percent of the two million federal employees deemed eligible for "deferred resignation."

The recent large-scale workforce reduction measures for federal employees have sparked in Washington, D.C. multiple protests. Enditem

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