Department offices bought closed down up until Thursday

Agencies cut employees utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is due date to send plans for massive layoffs

(Adds 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 said on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing completely, as federal government firms rushed to satisfy President Donald Trump's due date to submit strategies for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations are part of the department's "final objective," it stated in a news release, pointing to Trump's vow to eliminate the department, which supervises $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil liberties laws in schools and provides federal financing for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would lead to 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 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January.

Before announcing the layoffs, the company purchased offices in the Washington location closed to staff from Tuesday night through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the nature of the problems prompting the closures.

Similar closures worked as a precursor to shuttering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian help agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which protects Americans versus unscrupulous loan providers.

The layoffs are the latest step in Trump's sweeping effort to scale down the federal government, led by the world's wealthiest person Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has actually 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, regardless of lots of lawsuits challenging the legality of those moves.

DOGE's blunt-force method has frustrated a number of White House authorities and Republican legislators, a few of whom have confronted upset constituents at town halls. Trump informed department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his first notable public move to limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government companies have been ordered to come up with massive layoff plans by Thursday, setting up the next stage of Trump's cost-cutting campaign. Several firms have actually provided staff members payments to retire early to meet Trump's need.

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 said it would combat the "exorbitant cuts."

"What is clear from the past weeks of mass shootings, chaos, and unattended unprofessionalism is that this regime has no regard for the thousands of workers who have actually 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 actually argued that the government is inefficient and puffed up. DOGE declares it has conserved $105 billion in cuts, however it has just publicly recorded a fraction of those savings, and its accounting has been pestered 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 majority were overpayments, the report said. Total federal investments topped $6.75 trillion because financial year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other agencies have provided lump-sum payments of up to $25,000 before tax to employees who accept 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 uses, combined with another program that alleviates eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being embraced as a lower-friction way to help fulfill the Thursday due date, human resources specialists at several federal firms told Reuters.

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

The General Services Administration, which manages the federal government's home portfolio, is likewise looking for approval to use the buyout payments to employees, according to an email sent by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be grabbed remark outside of U.S. company hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually currently provided benefits 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 obstacles. It likewise needs workers who have accepted the offer to pay back the cash if they take another federal government task within 5 years.

Only a number of companies have actually telegraphed the number of staff members they prepare to cut in the 2nd phase of layoffs. These consist of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is intending 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 provided lump-sum payments to some 650 of its workers, according to another individual with knowledge of the matter. Employees were given until March 12 to react.

On Monday, the HR department of the Fda sent an email to all 19,000 staff members 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 offer by including two months of complete pay in addition to the reward, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS might not be grabbed comment beyond regular U.S. business 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)