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

Department workplaces bought shut down till Thursday

Agencies cut workers utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is due date to submit strategies 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 companies scrambled to satisfy President Donald Trump’s deadline to submit plans for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations are part of the department’s “last objective,” it stated in a press release, mentioning Trump’s vow to get rid of the department, which manages $1.6 trillion in college loans, implements civil rights laws in schools and provides federal funding for clingy districts.

Asked on Fox News whether the shootings would result in the department’s dismantling, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said “yes,” including that doing so “was the president’s mandate.” The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, below 4,133 when Trump took office in January.

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

Similar closures functioned 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 against unscrupulous lending institutions.

The layoffs are the newest action in Trump’s sweeping effort to scale down the government, led by the world’s wealthiest 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 help and canceled thousands of programs and agreements, in spite of lots of lawsuits challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE’s blunt-force method has actually annoyed numerous White House authorities and Republican legislators, a few of whom have actually challenged angry constituents at city center. Trump told department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the final say on staffing, his very first noteworthy public relocate to restrain 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 phase of Trump’s cost-cutting project. Several companies have actually used employees payments to retire early to meet Trump’s need.

Affected Education Department workers will be positioned on administrative leave starting on March 21, the department said.

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

“What is clear from the previous weeks of mass shootings, mayhem, and unattended unprofessionalism is that this routine has no regard for the countless employees who have devoted their careers 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 government is wasteful and bloated. DOGE claims it has saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has actually only openly recorded a fraction of those cost savings, and its accounting has been afflicted by mistakes.

The federal government reported an approximated $162 billion in improper payments in 2024, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office annual report released on Tuesday. The huge 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 incorrect payments figure was down sharply from 2023’s $236 billion, the GAO said.

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other agencies have offered 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 provides, combined with another program that eases eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being welcomed as a lower-friction way to assist fulfill the Thursday deadline, human resources experts at several federal agencies told Reuters.

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

The General Services Administration, which manages the federal government’s home portfolio, is also seeking approval to provide the buyout payments to workers, according to an email sent by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be reached for comment outside of U.S. company hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already provided perks 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 challenges. It also requires workers who have actually accepted the deal to pay back the cash if they take another government task within five years.

Only a couple of firms have telegraphed the number of staff members they prepare to cut in the second phase of layoffs. These consist of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is aiming to cut more than 80,000 workers, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is planning to cut 1,029 personnel.

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

On Monday, the HR department of the Food and Drug Administration sent out an e-mail to all 19,000 staff members 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 2 months of complete pay in addition to the perk, according to a copy of the e-mail seen by Reuters. HHS could not be reached for remark beyond typical U.S. service 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)