Trump administration to offer buyout option to federal employees not wanting to work in person
The Trump administration is expected to send out the offer as early as Tuesday evening, which will allow employees to retain benefits and be paid through September if they hand in their resignation by Feb. 6.
President Donald Trump's administration is allegedly planning to send a buyout option for most federal employees who do not want to return to work in person, multiple outlets reported Tuesday.
Trump signed an executive order last week that instructs all executive branch departments and agencies to terminate remote work arrangements by next month. The order came after a House report found that vast numbers of federal employees telework from home, or other locations, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars spent on office space.
The Trump administration's Office of Personnel Management is expected to send out the offer as early as Tuesday evening, which will allow employees to retain benefits and be paid through September if they hand in their resignation by Feb. 6, per Axios.
"The government-wide email being sent today is to make sure that all federal workers are on board with the new administration's plan to have federal employees in office and adhering to higher standards," a senior administration official told the outlet. "We're five years past COVID and just six percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable."
The White House said it expects between 5-10% of employees to take the offer, which could result in over 100,000 people leaving the federal workforce. But the administration also projected the buyout could ultimately save taxpayers up to $100 billion a year. There are over 2 million federal employees.
The offer will be sent to all federal employees except for military personnel, those who work in national security and immigration, and postal workers.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.