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

Department offices purchased closed down until Thursday

Agencies cut workers using lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is due date to submit prepare for massive layoffs

(Adds 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 nearly half its staff, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as federal government companies rushed to satisfy President Donald Trump’s deadline to send prepare for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations belong to the department’s “last mission,” it stated in a news release, mentioning Trump’s vow to eliminate the department, which oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil rights laws in schools and offers federal funding for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the firings would cause the department’s taking apart, 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 employees, down from 4,133 when Trump took workplace in January.

Before revealing the layoffs, the firm ordered workplaces in the Washington area near personnel from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notice seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not instantly react to concerns about the nature of the security concerns triggering the closures.

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

The layoffs are the most current step in Trump’s sweeping effort to downsize the government, led by the world’s wealthiest individual Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has actually cut more than 100,000 tasks throughout the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign aid and canceled thousands of programs and contracts, regardless of dozens of claims challenging the legality of those moves.

DOGE’s blunt-force approach has actually frustrated numerous White House authorities and Republican legislators, some of whom have confronted upset constituents at town halls. Trump told department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the last say on staffing, his very first noteworthy public relocation to restrain the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. federal government companies have actually been purchased to come up with large-scale layoff strategies by Thursday, setting up the next stage of Trump’s cost-cutting project. Several agencies have actually used workers payments to retire early to fulfill Trump’s demand.

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

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

“What is clear from the previous weeks of mass shootings, mayhem, and untreated unprofessionalism is that this routine has no respect for the countless workers who have actually committed their professions to serve their fellow Americans,” said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.

Trump and Musk have argued that the federal government is inefficient and bloated. DOGE declares it has actually conserved $105 billion in cuts, but it has actually just publicly recorded a portion of those cost savings, and its accounting has actually been pestered by mistakes.

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

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

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

The Trump administration has been grappling with myriad claims after it fired countless probationary workers in a very first wave of mass layoffs and essentially took apart whole departments like USAID and CFPB.

The General Services Administration, which handles the government’s property portfolio, is likewise seeking approval to provide the buyout payments to workers, according to an e-mail sent by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be reached for remark beyond U.S. company hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually currently used perks of approximately $50,000, Reuters reported.

Personnels and public governance professionals said the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less susceptible to legal obstacles. It likewise needs employees who have accepted the deal to repay the money if they take another government task within five years.

Only a couple of agencies have actually telegraphed the number of employees they plan to cut in the 2nd stage of layoffs. These include the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is intending to cut more than 80,000 employees, and the National Oceanic and Administration, which is preparing to cut 1,029 personnel.

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

On Monday, the HR department of the Fda sent an e-mail to all 19,000 employees 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 prior offer by including 2 months of full pay in addition to the reward, according to a copy of the e-mail seen by Reuters. HHS might not be grabbed comment beyond normal U.S. business 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)