US Education Department to Cut Half its Staff As Trump Eyes Its

Department workplaces ordered closed down until Thursday

Agencies cut workers using lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is deadline to submit strategies for massive layoffs

(Adds brand-new federal government report on incorrect payments, paragraphs 12-14)

By Timothy Gardner, Tim Reid, Alexandra Alper and Marisa Taylor

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Education stated on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as federal government firms rushed to satisfy President Donald Trump’s deadline to submit prepare for a second round of mass layoffs.

The terminations become part of the department’s “last mission,” it stated in a news release, pointing to Trump’s vow to get rid of the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, imposes civil liberties laws in schools and provides federal funding for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would result in the department’s taking apart, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated “yes,” including that doing so “was the president’s required.” The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, down from 4,133 when Trump took workplace in January.

Before announcing the layoffs, the firm purchased offices in the Washington area near staff from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notification seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not instantly react to concerns about the nature of the security issues prompting the closures.

Similar closures served as a precursor to shuttering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian aid agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects Americans against deceitful loan providers.

The layoffs are the newest step in Trump’s sweeping effort to downsize the federal government, led by the world’s richest person Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has cut more than 100,000 tasks throughout the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign aid and canceled countless programs and contracts, despite dozens of claims challenging the legality of those moves.

DOGE’s blunt-force approach has actually annoyed numerous White House authorities and Republican lawmakers, a few of whom have faced upset constituents at town halls. Trump informed department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his first noteworthy public transfer to limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. federal government firms have been ordered to come up with large-scale layoff strategies by Thursday, establishing the next stage of Trump’s cost-cutting campaign. Several firms have provided staff members payments to retire early to satisfy Trump’s need.

Affected Education Department staff members will be put on administrative leave starting on March 21, the department stated.

The union representing more than 2,800 department employees said it would combat the “draconian cuts.”

“What is clear from the previous weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unattended unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of employees who have actually committed their careers to serve their fellow Americans,” said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.

Trump and Musk have argued that the government is inefficient and bloated. DOGE declares it has actually conserved $105 billion in cuts, however it has actually just openly recorded a fraction of those cost savings, and its accounting has actually been afflicted by mistakes.

The federal government reported an estimated $162 billion in incorrect payments in fiscal year 2024, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office yearly report launched on Tuesday. The large bulk were overpayments, the report stated. Total federal expenses topped $6.75 trillion because , according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The overall improper payments figure was down dramatically from 2023’s $236 billion, the GAO said.

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other agencies have offered lump-sum payments of as much as $25,000 before tax to workers who concur to leave their jobs. Among these are the Office of Personnel Management, the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, including its Food and Drug Administration.

The buyout offers, integrated with another program that relieves eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being accepted as a lower-friction method to help meet the Thursday deadline, human resources experts at several federal firms told Reuters.

The Trump administration has been coming to grips with myriad lawsuits after it fired thousands of probationary employees in a very first wave of mass layoffs and essentially took apart whole departments like USAID and CFPB.

The General Services Administration, which handles the government’s home portfolio, is also seeking approval to use the buyout payments to workers, according to an email sent out by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be grabbed comment beyond U.S. organization hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already provided rewards of up to $50,000, Reuters reported.

Human resources and public governance experts stated the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less vulnerable to legal difficulties. It likewise requires employees who have actually accepted the deal to repay the cash if they take another federal government task within five years.

Only a couple of firms have actually telegraphed how lots of staff members they plan to cut in the 2nd phase of layoffs. These include the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is aiming to cut more than 80,000 workers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is planning to cut 1,029 staff.

OPM itself has actually used lump-sum payments to some 650 of its workers, according to another individual with knowledge of the matter. Employees were offered up until March 12 to respond.

On Monday, the HR department of the Fda sent an e-mail to all 19,000 staff members announcing a Friday, March 14, deadline for a buyout program. Those who accept would have to retire by April 19.

Late on Monday, HHS sweetened its prior deal by 2 months of complete pay in addition to the bonus, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS could not be grabbed remark outside of typical U.S. organization hours. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Alexandra Alper, Tim Reid and Marisa Taylor, additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Kanishka Singh, composing by Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)