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Department workplaces ordered closed down till Thursday

Agencies cut employees utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is deadline to send prepare for massive layoffs

(Adds brand-new federal 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 said on Tuesday it would lay off nearly half its personnel, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as government companies scrambled to satisfy President Donald Trump's due date to submit strategies for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations become part of the department's "final mission," it said in a press release, pointing to Trump's vow to eliminate the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, imposes civil liberties laws in schools and provides federal financing for needy districts.

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

Before announcing the layoffs, the agency bought workplaces in the Washington location closed to staff from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, according to an internal notification seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not instantly react to concerns about the nature of the security 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 company, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which safeguards Americans versus unscrupulous lending institutions.

The layoffs are the most recent action 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 across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign help and canceled countless programs and agreements, regardless of dozens of claims challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE's blunt-force method has actually irritated a number of White House authorities and Republican lawmakers, some of whom have actually faced upset constituents at city center. Trump told department heads last week that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his very first notable public move to limit the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government firms have actually been ordered to come up with massive layoff plans by Thursday, setting up the next phase of Trump's cost-cutting campaign. Several agencies have actually used employees payments to retire early to meet Trump's demand.

Affected Education Department workers will be put on administrative leave beginning on March 21, the department stated.

The union representing more than 2,800 department employees stated it would battle the "extreme cuts."

"What is clear from the previous weeks of mass shootings, mayhem, and untreated unprofessionalism is that this routine has no respect for the thousands of employees who have devoted their professions to serve their fellow Americans," stated Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.

Trump and Musk have argued that the federal government is wasteful and bloated. DOGE claims it has actually conserved $105 billion in cuts, however it has only openly recorded a portion of those cost savings, and its accounting has been afflicted by mistakes.

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

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other agencies have actually provided lump-sum payments of as much as $25,000 before tax to employees who consent to 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 welcomed as a lower-friction way to assist fulfill the Thursday due date, human resources specialists at several federal companies told Reuters.

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

The General Services Administration, which manages the government's residential or commercial property portfolio, is also seeking approval to use the buyout payments to employees, according to an e-mail sent by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be grabbed comment beyond U.S. service hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has actually currently offered bonus offers of approximately $50,000, Reuters reported.

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

Only a couple of companies have actually the number of employees 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 staff.

OPM itself has actually 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 react.

On Monday, the HR department of the Fda sent an email 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 previous deal by adding two months of full pay in addition to the perk, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS might not be grabbed comment outside of typical U.S. organization hours. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Alexandra Alper, Tim Reid and Marisa Taylor, additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Kanishka Singh, composing by Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)