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Department offices ordered shut down up until Thursday

Agencies cut workers using lump-sum payments, early retirement

Thursday is due date to submit strategies 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 staff, a possible precursor to closing completely, as government companies scrambled to fulfill President Donald Trump's due date to send prepare for a 2nd round of mass layoffs.

The terminations are part of the department's "last mission," it said in a news release, alluding to Trump's vow to get rid of the department, which oversees $1.6 trillion in college loans, enforces civil liberties laws in schools and offers federal financing for needy districts.

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

Before announcing the layoffs, the firm purchased workplaces in the Washington location closed to personnel from Tuesday night through Wednesday, according to an internal notification seen by Reuters. An Education Department spokesperson did not immediately react to concerns about the nature of the security issues prompting the closures.

Similar closures acted as a precursor to shuttering the head office of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian help agency, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which safeguards Americans versus unethical lenders.

The layoffs are the current step in Trump's sweeping effort to downsize the federal government, led by the world's richest individual Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has actually cut more than 100,000 tasks across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign aid and canceled countless programs and agreements, regardless of dozens of lawsuits challenging the legality of those relocations.

DOGE's blunt-force technique has actually annoyed numerous White House authorities and Republican legislators, some of whom have actually faced mad constituents at city center. Trump told department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the last word on staffing, his first noteworthy public relocate to restrain the Tesla CEO.

All U.S. government companies have actually been purchased to come up with massive layoff plans by Thursday, establishing the next stage of Trump's cost-cutting project. Several companies have used staff members payments to retire early to satisfy Trump's need.

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

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

"What is clear from the previous weeks of mass shootings, turmoil, and untreated unprofessionalism is that this routine has no regard for the thousands of 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 federal government is inefficient and bloated. it has actually saved $105 billion in cuts, however it has only openly recorded a portion of those cost savings, and its accounting has been plagued by errors.

The federal government reported an estimated $162 billion in improper 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 expenses topped $6.75 trillion because , according to the Congressional Budget Office.

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

EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS

Other agencies have offered lump-sum payments of approximately $25,000 before tax to workers 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 Food and Drug Administration.

The buyout provides, integrated with another program that eases eligibility requirements for early retirement, are being embraced as a lower-friction way to assist meet the Thursday deadline, personnels specialists at numerous federal agencies told Reuters.

The Trump administration has actually been coming to grips with myriad lawsuits after it fired countless probationary workers in a very first wave of mass layoffs and basically dismantled entire departments like USAID and CFPB.

The General Services Administration, which manages the federal government's home portfolio, is also seeking approval to use the buyout payments to employees, according to an e-mail sent out by its acting head to staff on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA could not be reached for remark beyond U.S. business hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has currently offered perks of approximately $50,000, Reuters reported.

Personnels and public governance professionals stated the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less vulnerable to legal challenges. It likewise requires employees who have accepted the deal to repay the cash if they take another government task within five years.

Only a couple of firms have actually telegraphed the number of employees they plan to cut in the second phase of layoffs. These consist of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is intending 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 provided lump-sum payments to some 650 of its staff members, according to another individual with understanding of the matter. Employees were given up until March 12 to respond.

On Monday, the HR department of the Fda sent out an e-mail to all 19,000 employees announcing 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 previous deal by adding 2 months of complete pay in addition to the bonus, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS could not be reached for comment outside of regular U.S. company 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)