As part of the government spending cuts initiated by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, the CIA has begun to lay off officers who were hired in the last two years. These layoffs have shattered morale. This was reported by the New York Times, writes UNN.
According to sources informed about the layoffs, some officers hired in the last two years were called to a location away from the agency's headquarters and asked to surrender their identification to security personnel. The officers were not told why they were being summoned.
Some young agency employees were hesitant to answer phone calls, fearing it might be a call from security services. According to people informed about the situation, the layoffs have shattered morale and decreased productivity.
According to a CIA spokesperson, officers must work in rapidly changing stressful situations, but this is not for everyone. Other officials stated that the layoffs were based on performance results.
At the same time, in key areas such as gathering information on Chinese and Mexican drug cartels, layoffs seem to have decreased, the publication writes.
Recall
Earlier, the CIA offered employees voluntary layoffs amid Donald Trump's push to reduce the workforce. According to the proposal sent by the CIA to its employees, staff can agree to be laid off with salary and benefits until September 30.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, whose candidacy was proposed by Trump, promised to focus on threats posed by China and to expand the volume of intelligence collected by employees around the world.