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

Department offices purchased 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 new government report on improper payments, paragraphs 12-14)

By Timothy Gardner, Tim Reid, and Marisa Taylor

WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Education said on Tuesday it would lay off almost half its personnel, a possible precursor to closing entirely, as federal government agencies rushed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s deadline to send strategies for a second round of mass layoffs.

The terminations belong to the department’s « final objective, » it said in a press release, pointing to Trump’s vow to remove the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, implements civil liberties laws in schools and supplies federal financing for needy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would result in the department’s dismantling, 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 revealing the layoffs, the agency bought offices in the Washington area closed to personnel from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notification seen by Reuters. An Education Department representative did not instantly react to concerns about the nature of the security issues prompting the closures.

Similar closures acted 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 safeguards Americans versus unethical lending institutions.

The layoffs are the most recent action in Trump’s sweeping effort to scale down the government, led by the world’s wealthiest 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 agreements, in spite of lots of claims challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE’s blunt-force technique has actually irritated a number of White House officials and Republican legislators, some of whom have actually confronted mad constituents at town halls. Trump informed department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the last say on staffing, his first noteworthy public relocate to restrain the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government firms have been purchased to come up with massive layoff plans by Thursday, setting up the next stage of Trump’s cost-cutting project. Several firms have actually offered staff members payments to retire early to satisfy Trump’s need.

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

The union representing more than 2,800 department employees said it would fight the « severe cuts. »

« What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, turmoil, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this program has no respect for the thousands of workers 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 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 recorded a fraction of those cost savings, and its accounting has actually been plagued by mistakes.

The federal government reported an approximated $162 billion in incorrect payments in 2024, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office yearly report launched on Tuesday. The large bulk were overpayments, the report said. Total federal expenses topped $6.75 trillion in that financial year, 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 agencies have provided lump-sum payments of approximately $25,000 before tax to workers who accept 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 reduces eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being embraced as a lower-friction way to assist fulfill the Thursday due date, human resources professionals at numerous federal companies told Reuters.

The Trump administration has actually been facing myriad suits after it fired thousands of probationary workers in a very first wave of mass layoffs and essentially dismantled whole departments like USAID and CFPB.

The General Services Administration, which manages the government’s property portfolio, is also seeking approval to offer the buyout payments to employees, according to an e-mail sent by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be grabbed remark beyond U.S. business hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually already provided bonuses of as much as $50,000, Reuters reported.

Personnels and public governance specialists said the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less susceptible to legal obstacles. It also needs employees who have accepted the deal to repay 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 plan to cut in the 2nd phase of layoffs. These include the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is intending to cut more than 80,000 workers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is preparing to cut 1,029 personnel.

OPM itself has used lump-sum payments to some 650 of its workers, according to another individual with knowledge of the matter. Employees were given till March 12 to react.

On Monday, the HR department of the Fda sent out 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 adding 2 months of complete pay in addition to the benefit, according to a copy of the e-mail seen by Reuters. HHS could not be grabbed remark outside of normal U.S. organization hours. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Alexandra Alper, Tim Reid and Marisa Taylor, additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Kanishka Singh, writing by Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)