Department workplaces ordered closed down up until Thursday

Agencies cut workers utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is deadline to send 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 almost half its staff, a possible precursor to closing entirely, as federal government firms scrambled to meet President Donald Trump's deadline to send strategies for a second round of mass layoffs.

The terminations become part of the department's "last objective," it stated in a press release, pointing to Trump's vow to remove the department, which manages $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 result in the department's taking apart, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said "yes," adding that doing so "was the president's required." The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 workers, below 4,133 when Trump took office in January.

Before revealing the layoffs, the agency purchased offices in the Washington area near staff from Tuesday night 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 problems triggering the closures.

Similar closures worked 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 protects Americans versus deceitful lending institutions.

The layoffs are the current action 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 tasks throughout the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign aid and canceled thousands of programs and agreements, in spite of dozens of claims challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE's blunt-force approach has irritated several White House officials and Republican lawmakers, a few of whom have actually confronted upset constituents at city center. Trump told department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his very first notable public relocate to limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. federal government firms have actually been purchased to come up with large-scale layoff plans by Thursday, establishing the next stage of Trump's cost-cutting project. Several agencies have actually offered workers payments to retire early to satisfy Trump's need.

Affected Education Department employees will be put on administrative leave beginning 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, chaos, and unattended unprofessionalism is that this routine has no respect for the countless employees who have actually 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 government is wasteful and bloated. DOGE declares it has actually saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has actually only openly recorded a fraction of those cost savings, and its accounting has actually been plagued by mistakes.

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

The total improper 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 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 Fda.

The buyout provides, integrated with another program that reduces eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being accepted as a lower-friction method to help satisfy the Thursday deadline, human resources specialists at several federal agencies informed Reuters.

The Trump administration has actually been coming to grips with myriad suits after it fired thousands of probationary workers in a 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 workers, according to an email sent out by its acting head to personnel on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be reached for comment beyond U.S. business hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has currently offered benefits 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 challenges. It likewise needs employees who have accepted the deal to pay back the cash if they take another government job within 5 years.

Only a couple of agencies have actually telegraphed the number of staff members they prepare 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 personnel.

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

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 need to retire by April 19.

Late on Monday, HHS sweetened its previous deal by including 2 months of complete pay in addition to the bonus, according to a copy of the e-mail seen by Reuters. HHS might not be reached for comment outside of normal U.S. business 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)