Over 20k federal workers take Trump’s ‘buyout’ offer

More than 20,000 federal employees (about 1% of the workforce) have signed up for an offer to quit their jobs in exchange for continued salaries until September. With this development, the newly-appointed Trump administration, backed by his efficiency czar, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is aiming to reduce the federal workforce by up to 10%, as per reports. 

However, it may prove a challenge to the Trump administration considering nearly 2.3 million civilian federal employees, including workers in defense, intelligence, postal, and law enforcement, are excluded from this program.

As part of the buyout, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management last Tuesday offered all federal employees eight months of pay and benefits through September if they resign from their job by the deadline. 

Employees choosing to quit by the February end are eligible to pursue other jobs, as long as they do not conflict with federal employment. They are also not allowed to sue the government. The Trump administration is expecting to see a rise in the number of applicants before the deadline.

Employees have until February 6, 2025, to accept the buyout offer.

The White House’s buyout was aimed at federal employees unwilling to return to in-person work. It is seen as a part of broader efforts to restructure the government workforce, including a mandatory in-person work schedule and overhauling the federal hiring process.

Currently, only about 6% of the more than 2 million federal employees are working full-time in the office. 

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