The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is offering buyouts to almost all federal workers who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the US government as fast as possible.
The Trump administration said on Tuesday it is offering financial incentives to 2 million civilian full-time federal workers to quit as part of plans to drastically shrink the size of the US government.
The “deferred resignation program” would allow federal employees to remain on the payroll through Sept. 30 but without having to work in person and possibly having their duties reduced or eliminated in the meantime, according to an email sent to federal employees and seen by Reuters.
The email gives federal employees until Feb. 6 to decide whether to take part. It instructed interested employees to reply to the email from a government account and type the word “resign.” The offer covers civilian employees except those in immigration and national security-related positions and people working for the US Postal Service.
The unprecedented move comes as Republican President Donald Trump has used his early days in office to shrink, purge and remake the US federal government to conform to his political priorities.
There are about 2.3 million US civilian employees, excluding the Postal Service. Security related agencies account for the bulk of the federal workforce, but hundreds of thousands of people work across the country in jobs overseeing veterans’ healthcare, inspecting agriculture and paying the government’s bills, among other jobs.
The White House did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
Read also:
Trump orders federal funding freeze in possible violation of US constitution
France slams Trump’s plan to forcibly displace Gazans to Jordan and Egypt
Trump targets diversity in the military, orders ‘Iron Dome’ short-range missile defense
