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<br>Department offices ordered closed down till Thursday<br><br><br>Agencies cut employees utilizing lump-sum payments, early retirement<br> <br><br>Thursday is due date to send strategies for large-scale layoffs<br> <br><br>(Adds new federal government report on improper payments, paragraphs 12-14)<br><br><br>By Timothy Gardner, Tim Reid, Alexandra Alper and Marisa Taylor<br><br><br>WASHINGTON, March 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Education said on Tuesday it would lay off almost half its personnel, a possible precursor to closing altogether, as government companies rushed to satisfy President Donald Trump's deadline to submit prepare for a second round of mass layoffs.<br><br><br>The terminations are part of the department's "last objective," it stated in a press release, alluding to Trump's vow to remove the department, which supervises $1.6 trillion in college loans, [https://29sixservices.in/ imposes civil] rights laws in schools and supplies federal financing for needy districts.<br><br><br>Asked on Fox News whether the firings would lead to the department's taking apart, Secretary of Education Linda [https://29sixservices.in/ McMahon] said "yes," adding that doing so "was the president's required." The layoffs would leave the department with 2,183 employees, below 4,133 when Trump took workplace in January.<br><br><br>Before announcing the layoffs, the company purchased [https://29sixservices.in/about-us/ offices] in the Washington area closed to [https://29sixservices.in/about-us/ staff] from Tuesday night through Wednesday, according to an internal notification seen by Reuters. An Education Department [https://29sixservices.in/payroll-processing/ spokesperson] did not right away react to [https://29sixservices.in/payroll-processing/ questions] about the nature of the security concerns prompting the closures.<br><br><br>Similar closures acted as a precursor to shuttering the of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the humanitarian aid firm, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which secures Americans versus unscrupulous loan providers.<br><br><br>The layoffs are the current step in Trump's sweeping effort to downsize the federal government, led by the world's wealthiest individual Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE has cut more than 100,000 jobs across the 2.3 million-member federal civilian administration, frozen most foreign aid and canceled countless programs and agreements, regardless of dozens of suits challenging the legality of those relocations.<br><br><br>DOGE's blunt-force approach has actually frustrated numerous White House officials and Republican legislators, some of whom have confronted angry constituents at town halls. Trump informed department heads recently that they, not Musk, have the last say on staffing, his first significant public relocation to restrain the Tesla CEO.<br><br><br>All U.S. federal government companies have actually been purchased to come up with large-scale layoff plans by Thursday, setting up the next stage of Trump's cost-cutting project. Several companies have actually provided employees payments to retire early to fulfill Trump's need.<br><br><br>Affected Education Department [https://29sixservices.in/ staff] members will be put on administrative leave beginning on March 21, the department said.<br><br><br>The union representing more than 2,800 department employees said it would fight the "draconian cuts."<br><br><br>"What is clear from the previous weeks of mass firings, turmoil, and untreated unprofessionalism is that this routine has no regard for the countless employees who have actually committed their professions to serve their fellow Americans," said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.<br><br><br>Trump and Musk have argued that the government is inefficient and bloated. DOGE claims it has conserved $105 billion in cuts, but it has only openly recorded a portion of those cost savings, and its accounting has been pestered by mistakes.<br><br><br>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 bulk were overpayments, the report said. Total federal expenses topped $6.75 trillion in that financial year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.<br><br><br>The total incorrect payments figure was down greatly from 2023's $236 billion, the GAO said.<br><br><br>EARLY RETIREMENT OFFERS<br><br><br>Other firms have provided lump-sum payments of approximately $25,000 before tax to workers who accept leave their jobs. 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.<br><br><br>The buyout provides, integrated with another program that [https://29sixservices.in/manage-resources/ eases eligibility] requirements for early retirement, are being accepted as a lower-friction way to assist fulfill the Thursday deadline, personnels professionals at several federal firms informed Reuters.<br><br><br>The Trump administration has been [https://29sixservices.in/manage-resources/ grappling] with myriad lawsuits after it fired thousands of probationary workers in a first wave of mass layoffs and essentially took apart entire departments like USAID and CFPB.<br><br><br>The General Services Administration, which manages the government's residential or commercial property portfolio, is also seeking approval to use the buyout payments to workers, according to an e-mail sent by its acting head to personnel on Monday and seen by Reuters. The GSA might not be reached for remark beyond U.S. service hours. The Securities and Exchange Commission has already provided rewards of as much as $50,000, Reuters reported.<br><br><br>Personnels and public governance experts stated the appeal of the buyout program is that it is voluntary and less susceptible to legal difficulties. It also requires employees who have accepted the offer to pay back the cash if they take another government task within 5 years.<br><br><br>Only a number of companies have actually telegraphed the number of workers they plan to cut in the second stage of layoffs. These include the Department of Veterans Affairs, which is aiming to cut more than 80,000 employees, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is planning to cut 1,029 personnel.<br><br><br>OPM itself has actually offered lump-sum payments to some 650 of its workers, according to another person with knowledge of the matter. Employees were provided till March 12 to respond.<br><br><br>On Monday, the HR department of the Food and Drug Administration sent an e-mail to all 19,000 employees announcing a Friday, March 14, due date for a buyout program. Those who accept would need to retire by April 19.<br><br><br>Late on Monday, HHS sweetened its previous deal by including 2 months of complete pay in addition to the perk, according to a copy of the email seen by Reuters. HHS might not be reached for remark outside of typical U.S. service hours. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Alexandra Alper, Tim Reid and Marisa Taylor, additional reporting by Nathan Layne and Kanishka Singh, composing by Nathan Layne and Joseph Ax; Editing by Scott Malone, David Gregorio and Muralikumar Anantharaman)<br>