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

Department offices bought closed down till Thursday

Agencies cut employees utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is deadline to send prepare for large-scale layoffs

(Adds brand-new government report on improper 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 staff, a possible precursor to closing entirely, as government agencies rushed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s due date to send strategies for a second round of mass layoffs.

The terminations become part of the department’s “final objective,” it stated in a press release, alluding to Trump’s vow to get rid of the department, which oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, imposes civil liberties laws in schools and provides federal funding for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would lead to the department’s dismantling, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon stated “yes,” adding that doing so “was the president’s mandate.” The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took workplace in January.

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

Similar closures worked as a precursor to shuttering the head office of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian help firm, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which secures Americans lenders.

The layoffs are the current step in Trump’s sweeping effort to scale down the government, led by the world’s richest person Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has actually cut more than 100,000 jobs across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian bureaucracy, frozen most foreign aid and canceled countless programs and agreements, despite dozens of suits challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE’s blunt-force approach has actually frustrated several White House authorities and Republican legislators, a few of whom have actually confronted angry constituents at town halls. Trump told department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his very first notable public move to restrain the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government companies have been bought to come up with large-scale layoff plans by Thursday, establishing the next stage of Trump’s cost-cutting project. Several firms have actually offered staff members payments to retire early to fulfill Trump’s need.

Affected Education Department employees 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 fight the “oppressive cuts.”

“What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and untreated unprofessionalism is that this regime has no regard for the countless employees who have dedicated their professions 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 actually saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has actually just publicly recorded a fraction of those cost savings, and its accounting has been pestered by mistakes.

The federal government reported an approximated $162 billion in inappropriate payments in 2024, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office annual report launched on Tuesday. The large bulk were overpayments, the report stated. Total federal investments topped $6.75 trillion in that , according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

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

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

The General Services Administration, which handles the government’s home portfolio, is likewise seeking approval to provide the buyout payments to employees, according to an email sent out by its acting head to personnel on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be grabbed comment outside of U.S. business hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already offered bonus offers of approximately $50,000, Reuters reported.

Personnels and public governance experts stated the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less susceptible to legal obstacles. It likewise needs employees who have actually accepted the deal to pay back the money if they take another government job within 5 years.

Only a number of agencies have telegraphed how many staff members they prepare to cut in the second 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 planning to cut 1,029 staff.

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

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

Late on Monday, HHS sweetened its prior offer by adding 2 months of complete pay in addition to the bonus offer, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS might not be reached for remark 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; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)