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

Department offices bought closed down up until Thursday

Agencies cut workers using lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is due date to send plans for large-scale 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 almost half its personnel, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as government agencies scrambled to fulfill President Donald Trump’s due date to submit plans for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations belong to the department’s « last objective, » it stated in a news release, alluding to Trump’s vow to get rid of the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, implements civil liberties laws in schools and offers federal funding for needy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would result in the department’s dismantling, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated « yes, » adding that doing so « was the president’s required. » The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, below 4,133 when Trump took office in January.

Before announcing the layoffs, the company bought workplaces in the Washington area closed to staff from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not right away respond to concerns about the nature of the security issues triggering the closures.

Similar closures functioned as a precursor to shuttering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian help firm, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which secures Americans against unethical loan providers.

The layoffs are the latest action in Trump’s sweeping effort to scale down the federal government, led by the world’s richest individual Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has actually cut more than 100,000 jobs across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian bureaucracy, frozen most foreign aid and canceled countless programs and agreements, regardless of lots of suits challenging the legality of those moves.

DOGE’s blunt-force technique has frustrated several White House officials and Republican lawmakers, some of whom have actually faced upset constituents at town halls. Trump told department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his very first notable public relocate to limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government firms have been ordered to come up with massive layoff strategies by Thursday, setting up the next phase of Trump’s cost-cutting project. Several have actually provided staff members payments to retire early to satisfy Trump’s demand.

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

The union representing more than 2,800 department employees stated it would battle the « extreme cuts. »

« What is clear from the previous weeks of mass firings, turmoil, and uncontrolled unprofessionalism is that this program has no respect for the countless workers who have devoted 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 claims it has conserved $105 billion in cuts, however it has actually just publicly documented a portion of those cost savings, and its accounting has been pestered by errors.

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

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other firms have actually offered lump-sum payments of as much as $25,000 before tax to workers who concur to leave their tasks. 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 uses, integrated with another program that relieves eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being embraced as a lower-friction method to assist fulfill the Thursday deadline, personnels professionals at numerous federal agencies informed Reuters.

The Trump administration has been facing myriad suits after it fired thousands of probationary employees in a first wave of mass layoffs and basically took apart entire departments like USAID and CFPB.

The General Services Administration, which manages the government’s property portfolio, is likewise seeking approval to offer the buyout payments to workers, according to an email sent out by its acting head to personnel on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be grabbed comment outside of U.S. service hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually already offered bonuses of approximately $50,000, Reuters reported.

Personnels and public governance specialists stated the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less vulnerable to legal difficulties. It also requires employees who have accepted the deal to pay back the cash if they take another federal government job within five years.

Only a number of companies have telegraphed the number of staff members they prepare to cut in the second phase of layoffs. These include the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is intending to cut more than 80,000 employees, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is preparing to cut 1,029 staff.

OPM itself has actually used lump-sum payments to some 650 of its employees, according to another individual with understanding of the matter. Employees were provided till March 12 to respond.

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

Late on Monday, HHS sweetened its previous deal by including 2 months of complete pay in addition to the reward, according to a copy of the e-mail seen by Reuters. HHS might not be reached for remark beyond typical U.S. service hours. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Alexandra Alper, Tim Reid and Marisa Taylor, extra reporting by Nathan Layne and Kanishka Singh, composing by Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)