NEW YORK, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Many U.S. federal government employees were dismissed over the holiday weekend as managers confronted a Trump administration demand to fire workers by Tuesday, reported The Washington Post, adding that in group texts and in online forums, they dubbed the error-ridden run of firings the "St. Valentine's Day Massacre."

The firings targeted new hires on probation, who have fewer protections than permanent employees, and swept up people with years of service who had recently transferred between agencies, as well as military veterans and people with disabilities employed through a program that sped their hiring but put them on two years' probation.

"Most probationary employees have limited rights to appeal dismissals, but union heads have vowed to challenge the mass firings in court," noted the report. "The largest union representing federal workers has also indicated it plans to fight the terminations and pursue legal action."

Critics warned of swift consequences as the administration raced to execute a vision President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk have touted for a leaner, reshaped government. The latest wave of personnel actions already prompted an administrative complaint on behalf of workers at nine agencies, adding to more than a dozen legal tests of Trump's power filed one month into his term, it said.

"The firings have extended to touch employees at almost every agency, including map makers, archaeologists and cancer researchers, in choices that some workers said contradicted a U.S. Office of Personnel Management directive to retain 'mission-critical' workers," it added. Enditem

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