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

Department workplaces ordered shut down up until Thursday

Agencies cut employees using lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is deadline to send prepare for large-scale layoffs

(Adds 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 completely, as government agencies rushed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s deadline to submit plans for a second round of mass layoffs.

The terminations become part of the department’s « final mission, » it stated in a press release, mentioning Trump’s vow to remove the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, imposes civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the firings would cause the department’s taking apart, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said « yes, » including 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 firm ordered workplaces in the Washington area near personnel from Tuesday night through Wednesday, according to an internal notification seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not instantly respond to concerns about the nature of the security issues triggering the closures.

Similar closures acted as a precursor to shuttering the head office of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian aid company, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects Americans versus deceitful lenders.

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

DOGE’s blunt-force approach has irritated several White House officials and Republican lawmakers, some of whom have actually challenged upset constituents at city center. Trump told department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his very first significant public relocate to restrain the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. federal government companies have actually been bought to come up with large-scale layoff plans by Thursday, setting up the next phase of Trump’s cost-cutting campaign. Several firms have actually provided workers payments to retire early to satisfy Trump’s demand.

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

The union representing more than 2,800 department workers said it would combat the « extreme cuts. »

« What is clear from the previous weeks of mass firings, chaos, and uncontrolled unprofessionalism is that this routine has no regard for the thousands of workers who have actually dedicated their professions to serve their fellow Americans, » stated Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.

Trump and Musk have actually argued that the federal government is wasteful and puffed up. DOGE declares it has saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has just openly documented a fraction of those savings, and its accounting has been pestered by mistakes.

The federal government reported an estimated $162 billion in improper payments in 2024, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office annual report launched on Tuesday. The huge majority were overpayments, the report stated. Total federal expenses topped $6.75 trillion in that , according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other firms have offered lump-sum payments of approximately $25,000 before tax to employees who consent 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 provides, integrated with another program that relieves eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being embraced as a lower-friction method to help fulfill the Thursday due date, personnels specialists at several federal agencies informed Reuters.

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

The General Services Administration, which handles the federal government’s property portfolio, is likewise seeking approval to offer the buyout payments to employees, according to an e-mail sent out by its acting head to personnel on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be reached for comment beyond U.S. organization hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has currently offered perks of as much as $50,000, Reuters reported.

Human resources and public governance professionals said the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less vulnerable to legal challenges. It likewise needs workers who have accepted the offer to pay back the money if they take another federal government job within 5 years.

Only a number of agencies have actually telegraphed the number of staff members they plan to cut in the second stage of layoffs. These consist of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is aiming to cut more than 80,000 employees, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is planning to cut 1,029 personnel.

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

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

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