10 federal workers receive firing notices at the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee
About 10 people were fired Monday from the Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee.
Like thousands of federal workers fired by the Trump administration in recent days, those who lost their jobs at Zablocki were all probationary employees, according to an email obtained by the Journal Sentinel. They were fired "effective immediately," the email said.
The firings came as workers at Zablocki — which provides crucial health care, mental health counseling and job training to veterans — were already reeling from a demand to explain what they did last week from billionaire Elon Musk, who oversees the Department of Government Efficiency.
"The terminations were in multiple teams, and we're quickly assessing how this will impact our operations and what measures we need to put in place to continue to provide safe, high-quality care," Laurie Vail, the center's acting executive director, wrote in the Tuesday morning email.
She added, "We're going to feel the impact of the immediate loss of our team members who have stood alongside us serving our Veterans with dedication and pride. I empathize for each of these employees whose lives were changed so abruptly yesterday. We will miss them and are grateful for their service."
Vail could not be immediately reached for an interview.
The firings at Zablocki came the same day a top federal government watchdog said that the mass firings of probationary employees appear illegal and asked a specialized labor board to pause the terminations of six employees in six different federal agencies so the watchdog organization could investigate.
The employees in question were fired by the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and the Office of Personnel Management.
Erin Mansfield of USA TODAY contributed.
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