Trump Administration launches massive staffing cut at CIA

The Administration of US President Donald Trump has launched a large-scale reduction of personnel in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), affecting primarily employees hired over the past two years. RIA Novosti reported citing the New York Times.

"Some employees hired over the past two years were called outside Langley headquarters where they were forced to leave their IDs to security officials," the report said.

According to the New York Times, the layoffs are aimed at reducing the number of probationary employees. According to the newspaper, the CIA has confirmed that some of the employees hired over the past two years have indeed been laid off. However, the exact number has not yet been disclosed.

The situation has caused panic among young employees of the department, the material notes. Some are afraid to answer the phone, so as not to get a call to an out-of-state meeting, followed by dismissal. This has already had a negative impact on morale and productivity in the agency.

Earlier, NBC reported, citing sources, that the CIA sent an unclassified letter to the government's human resources department with the names of all hired employees for the past two years, as well as those on probation. Because of this, as CNN wrote, the agency launched an official audit to assess the possible consequences of the data leak after sending an unauthorized letter to the White House.