Department workplaces ordered closed down until Thursday

Agencies cut workers using lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is due date to submit prepare for massive layoffs

(Adds brand-new government report on inappropriate 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 completely, as federal government firms scrambled to meet President Donald Trump's due date to submit strategies for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations become part of the department's "last mission," it said in a news release, mentioning Trump's vow to get rid of the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, implements civil rights laws in schools and offers federal financing for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the firings would cause the department's dismantling, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated "yes," including that doing so "was the president's mandate." The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, below 4,133 when Trump took workplace in January.

Before revealing the layoffs, the agency ordered offices in the Washington area near personnel from Tuesday night through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not right away react to questions about the nature of the security issues triggering the closures.

Similar closures functioned 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 secures Americans versus dishonest loan providers.

The layoffs are the current 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 across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign help and canceled countless programs and agreements, in spite of lots of claims challenging the legality of those moves.

DOGE's blunt-force method has frustrated numerous White House officials and Republican lawmakers, some of whom have confronted angry constituents at town halls. Trump informed department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his first notable public move to limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. federal government firms have been bought to come up with massive layoff plans by Thursday, establishing the next stage of Trump's cost-cutting campaign. Several companies have provided staff members payments to retire early to fulfill Trump's demand.

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

The union representing more than 2,800 department employees said it would combat the "exorbitant cuts."

"What is clear from the past weeks of mass shootings, mayhem, and untreated unprofessionalism is that this program has no respect for the countless workers who have committed their careers 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 bloated. DOGE claims it has actually saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has actually just openly documented a portion of those savings, and its accounting has been pestered by mistakes.

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

The overall incorrect payments figure was down sharply from 2023's $236 billion, the GAO said.

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other firms have actually used lump-sum payments of approximately $25,000 before tax to workers who consent 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 Fda.

The buyout provides, combined with another program that eases eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being embraced as a lower-friction method to assist satisfy the Thursday due date, personnels professionals at numerous federal companies informed Reuters.

The Trump administration has been facing myriad claims after it fired countless probationary employees in a very first wave of mass layoffs and basically dismantled whole departments like USAID and CFPB.

The General Services Administration, which manages the federal government's residential or commercial property portfolio, is likewise seeking approval to offer the buyout payments to employees, according to an email sent out by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be reached for comment beyond U.S. company hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually already offered bonuses of up to $50,000, Reuters reported.

Human resources and public governance experts said the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less susceptible to legal obstacles. It likewise requires employees who have accepted the offer to repay the cash if they take another government job within five years.

Only a couple of companies have actually telegraphed how numerous workers they plan to cut in the second phase of layoffs. These include 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 staff.

OPM itself has actually offered lump-sum payments to some 650 of its staff members, according to another person with understanding of the matter. Employees were provided up until March 12 to react.

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

Late on Monday, its previous deal by adding two months of complete pay in addition to the bonus offer, according to a copy of the e-mail seen by Reuters. HHS might not be grabbed comment beyond regular U.S. organization 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)