President Donald Trump is drastically shrinking the workforce and mission of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an agency created after the Great Recession with the goal of protecting Americans from fraud, abuse and deceptive practices, the Associated Press reports.
The plan, which is being challenged by an employee union, is the latest step in a large-scale reshaping of the federal government. Conservatives and businesses have often chafed at the agency’s oversight and investigations, and Elon Musk made it a top target of his Department of Government Efficiency.
Roughly 1,500 employees, or 90%, are slated to be cut, leaving around 200 people, according to an administration official who wasn’t authorized to disclose the figure publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Employees started receiving layoff notices on Thursday. Their access to agency systems, including email, ends on Friday evening.
