More than 2,000 Montanans could be terminated from the federal government

By Darrell Ehrlick DAILY MONTANAN

As the state and the nation receive more news of federal job cuts from various agencies, the category most targeted are individuals on probationary status.

In the federal government, that means any employee who is new to a position for as long as two years, who is not covered by a union or other contract.

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According to an August 2024 report by the Office of Management and Budget (the most current month available in the database), there are 2,582 Montanan listed under probationary status.

Some of the terminations include employees who have worked for the federal government for longer than two years, but switched positions or entered new management levels and were still on probation.