WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nation’s largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection — potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.

Nearly 1,300 probationary employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are being forced out under the Trump administration's move to get rid of all probationary employees, the Associated Press reported on Friday,

The Trump administration on Thursday moved swiftly to fire thousands of workers and directed agency heads to terminate most trial and probationary staff — a move that could affect as many as 200,000 employees,

"That sort of slash-and-burn approach is what will cause continued disruptions in our understanding of diseases," one expert said.

The Department of Veterans affairs dismissed more than 1,000 employees in order to shrink the size of the federal workforce and save money for resources for healthcare.