PARKERSBURG — A union official said 80 probationary employees were let go from the federal Bureau of the Fiscal Service in Parkersburg last week.

“There were 80 employees here and 167 total throughout the bureau’s nationwide locations,” said Eric Engle, chief steward of National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 190, which represents workers at the bureau.

Following numerous posts on social media saying workers at the bureau were losing their jobs, an employee speaking on condition of anonymity said last week that the layoffs would begin Thursday, Feb. 20. It came about a week after representatives of the Department of Government Efficiency, an effort instituted by President Donald Trump and overseen by adviser Elon Musk, reportedly visited the bureau offices in Parkersburg to access a government payment system.

It’s not clear if the job losses were tied at all to that visit or if they were part of broader efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

According to an event posted on Facebook, a demonstration by current and former federal workers is planned for noon Friday at Point Park or, if it is unavailable, Bicentennial Park. Bicentennial Park is where the ACLU of West Virginia held a demonstration on Feb. 11 in conjunction with the reported DOGE visit.