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US President Donald Trump (AP)
The White House announced late on Tuesday that US federal employees are being offered buyouts equal to seven months of salary if they choose to leave their jobs by February 6. This is part of President Donald Trump's plan to restructure the US government.
A memo from the office of personnel management outlines four directives for the federal workforce, including a requirement for most employees to return to full-time in-office work.
The memo includes details of a "
deferred resignation programme
" for those opting to leave.
It says, "If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilising a deferred resignation programme. This programme begins effective January 28 and is available to all federal employees until February 6."
The memo also says, "If you resign under this programme, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30."
President Donald Trump has repeatedly highlighted his commitment to disrupting Washington and has promised that his second term would further challenge traditional political norms. The impact of offering buyouts to a large number of federal employees, however, remains uncertain.
The federal government employs over 3 million people, making it one of the largest workforces in the country. According to Pew Research Center data based on OPM figures, the average federal employee serves for 11.8 years. Even if a small portion of employees accept the buyout, it could lead to economic consequences and disruptions in federal services nationwide.
Potential departures could affect a range of critical roles, including Veterans Affairs health workers, loan processors, military contractors, food inspectors, scientists monitoring water quality, and employees responsible for air travel and product safety. The scale and effects of such exits remain unclear.
Everett Kelley, president of the
American Federation of Government Employees
union, criticized the buyout offer, describing it as a strategy to pressure employees viewed as disloyal to the administration into leaving. Kelley said, "Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government."
The memo also includes instructions on how to accept the buyout program, saying: "Upon review of the below deferred resignation letter, if you wish to resign: Select ‘Reply’ to this email. You must reply from your government account."
It adds: "Type the word "Resign' into the body of this email and hit 'send.'"
