Five of the six workers terminated from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery last week have officially returned to their posts, the shipyard said Thursday.

The six workers, all entry-level employees still in their probationary periods, were briefly fired by the Navy Department as part of a sweeping effort, led by billionaire Elon Musk and his team, to cut staff and costs throughout the federal government.

The shipyard was directed to return the affected workers to full employment status Wednesday, spokesperson Danna Eddy said in a written statement. She called the facility’s workers “our greatest resource.”

“Five of the six employees placed on administrative leave received this notification,” Eddy said. “The sixth employee was already in the process of being released for cause. That action has been completed.”

Bill Webber, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 2024, which represents the terminated shipyard employees, praised the employees’ return to work in a written statement.

“We’re really glad to have these hardworking employees back and they are thrilled to be going back to work to perform their duties,” Webber said.

Last week, two federal judges ordered the Trump administration to rehire probationary employees at nearly 20 government agencies, arguing that the Office of Personnel Management, which oversaw the firings, had no authority to do so.

The National American Federation of Government Employees was among those who sued.

Webber credited the workers’ return to that court victory and the “collective effort” of the national union and partners.

“This shows that when working people band together in unions we do have the power to stand up against this kind of illegal behavior,” Webber said in a written statement.

Early this week, Webber said that the fired workers had been placed on paid administrative leave but were waiting to be formally rehired.

A spokesperson for the shipyard could not confirm the reinstatements when asked Thursday afternoon.

The shipyard also reversed a hiring freeze it had implemented last month, following new orders by the Department of Defense.

But other terminated federal employees, including those at the Togus VA Medical Center, were placed on paid administrative leave this week, and they did not regain full employment status and remain unable to access their work emails and systems, the Maine AFL-CIO said in a written statement.

Matt Schlobohm,  executive director of the Maine AFL-CIO, said the Trump administration should “follow the court’s order” and immediately reinstate the VA workers.

“Elon Musk’s agenda to fire thousands of veterans, gut the VA and jeopardize social security is wildly unpopular with the American people,” Schlobohm said in a written statement.