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

Department offices purchased closed down until Thursday

Agencies cut workers utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is deadline to submit plans for massive layoffs

(Adds brand-new 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 said on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing entirely, as federal government firms scrambled to fulfill President Donald Trump’s due date to submit prepare for a second 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 remove the department, which oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, implements civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for needy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the firings would lead to the department’s taking apart, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated “yes,” including that doing so “was the president’s required.” The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, down from 4,133 when Trump took office in January.

Before announcing the layoffs, the firm bought workplaces in the Washington area near staff from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. An Education Department representative did not right away react to questions about the nature of the security concerns triggering the closures.

Similar closures worked as a precursor to shuttering the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian aid agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which safeguards Americans versus unethical lenders.

The layoffs are the current action in Trump’s sweeping effort to scale down the federal government, led by the world’s wealthiest 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 help and canceled countless programs and contracts, despite dozens of lawsuits challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE’s blunt-force approach has actually frustrated numerous White House authorities and Republican legislators, a few of whom have 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 limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government companies have actually been ordered to come up with large-scale layoff strategies by Thursday, establishing the next stage of Trump’s cost-cutting campaign. Several agencies have offered staff members payments to retire early to meet Trump’s demand.

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

The union representing more than 2,800 department workers stated it would battle the “oppressive cuts.”

“What is clear from the previous weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unattended unprofessionalism is that this routine has no respect for the countless employees who have dedicated 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 inefficient and bloated. DOGE claims it has saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has just publicly documented a portion of those savings, and its accounting has been afflicted by mistakes.

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

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other agencies have actually provided lump-sum payments of as much as $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 Fda.

The buyout offers, combined with another program that reduces eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being accepted as a lower-friction method to assist fulfill the Thursday due date, human resources specialists at several federal firms informed Reuters.

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

The General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s residential or commercial property portfolio, is also seeking approval to use the buyout payments to workers, according to an email sent by its acting head to personnel on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be reached for comment beyond U.S. business hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually currently provided bonus offers of up to $50,000, Reuters reported.

Human resources and public governance professionals stated the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less vulnerable to legal difficulties. It also requires employees who have actually accepted the offer to repay the money if they take another federal government task within 5 years.

Only a number of firms have actually telegraphed how lots of staff members 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 preparing to cut 1,029 staff.

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 Food and Drug Administration sent out an email to all 19,000 workers revealing 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 offer by including two months of complete pay in addition to the bonus offer, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS could not be reached for remark outside of typical U.S. organization 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; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)