Washington: The Trump administration announced on Tuesday a new program offering financial incentives to encourage up to 2 million full-time civilian federal employees to resign, as part of efforts to significantly reduce the size of the U.S. government.
The “deferred resignation program” allows eligible federal workers to remain on the payroll until September 30 without being required to work in person. Some employees may see their duties reassigned or even eliminated during this period, according to an email sent to federal workers and obtained by Reuters.
A Deadline to Decide
Federal employees have until February 6 to opt into the program. According to the email, interested employees must respond using their government email account with a single word: “resign”. The offer applies to civilian workers, excluding those in immigration and national security-related roles as well as employees of the U.S. Postal Service.
This initiative marks an unprecedented move in Trump’s broader efforts to shrink, restructure, and reshape the federal workforce to align with his administration’s priorities.
A Workforce in Transition
The U.S. civilian federal workforce, excluding the Postal Service, numbers approximately 2.3 million employees. While security-related agencies account for a significant portion of this workforce, hundreds of thousands are engaged in sectors like veterans’ healthcare, agriculture inspections, and government finance management.
The share of federal employees relative to the total U.S. non-farm workforce has been declining for decades, currently standing at under 2%.
The email sent to federal workers states that the administration seeks to create a “more streamlined and flexible workforce.” While some agencies, particularly those tied to defense and national security, may expand, most are expected to undergo downsizing through layoffs and restructuring.
However, the email warned federal employees that job security cannot be guaranteed:
“At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency, but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity. The reform of the federal workforce will be significant.”
Criticism and Uncertainty
The initiative has been met with skepticism from lawmakers and labor unions. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine dismissed the program as a “fake offer,” arguing that Trump lacks the authority to guarantee the promised financial incentives.
It remains unclear how many federal employees will accept the offer or what impact the resignations might have on government operations. According to NBC News, a senior administration official estimated that between 5% and 10% of the workforce may resign, potentially leading to $100 billion in savings—a figure that Reuters was unable to independently verify.
Elon Musk’s Cost-Cutting Role
Billionaire Elon Musk, tapped by Trump to spearhead a government cost-cutting initiative, initially aimed to slash $2 trillion from the $6.8 trillion federal budget. However, he later indicated that smaller spending cuts are now more likely.
‘Fork in the Road’ Email
Federal employees—many of whom are unionized and enjoy strong job protections—are now facing significant uncertainty. The memo suggests that the government will rely on furloughs and reclassification of workers to “at-will” status, a designation that allows staff to be dismissed without prior notice or justification.
Federal buyout packages are typically capped at $25,000, though it remains unclear whether this amount will apply to the current program.
The unsigned email announcing the program came from a newly created address—hr@opm.gov—and was titled: “Fork in the Road”. The choice of wording drew comparisons to an email Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2022 before mass layoffs at the social media company.
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), representing 150,000 federal workers, urged its members to ignore the resignation email, warning:
“The email is designed to entice or scare you into resigning. We strongly urge you not to resign in response.”
White House and Federal Agency Directives
The White House Office of Personnel Management (OPM) provided additional details to federal agencies, instructing them to:
- Reassign or eliminate the duties of employees who opt into the program.
- Place them on paid administrative leave until September 30.
- Allow participants to seek new jobs while continuing to accrue retirement benefits.
- Permit agencies to exempt critical positions from the offer.
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This move follows Trump’s executive actions aimed at restructuring the federal workforce. His administration has:
- Frozen federal hiring, with exceptions for military, immigration enforcement, national security, and public safety roles.
- Ordered agency heads to review employees in probationary periods, as workers with less than two years of service are easier to terminate.
- Signed an executive order to reclassify thousands of federal jobs, making it easier to dismiss employees.
Unions Push Back
Labor unions have strongly opposed the administration’s approach. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), accused the White House of deliberately creating a hostile work environment, saying:
“Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”
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Kelley urged federal employees not to rush into resignation decisions, warning that the administration’s offer might not be legally enforceable.
With thousands of federal employees now facing uncertainty, the impact of this mass resignation initiative remains to be seen.
