Alsharq Tribune- World News
Donald Trump has offered federal workers who do not want to return to the office eight months’ pay to resign. The US President announced the move in a bid to dramatically reduce headcount in the government.
In an email sent to millions of government employees on Tuesday, Mr Trump’s administration said workers had to decide by February 6 whether they want to be part of a “deferred resignation programme”.
It will allow federal employees to remain on the payroll through September 30, but without having to work in person and possibly having their duties reduced or eliminated in the meantime.
The email, entitled “Fork in the road”, instructed interested employees to reply 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.
"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 email said.
senior Trump administration official told Axios that the programme would “make sure that all federal workers are on board with the new administration's plan to have federal employees in the office and adhering to higher standards”.
"We're five years past Covid and just 6 percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable," they said.
NBC News cited a senior administration official who estimated that between 5 and 10 per cent of the federal workforce could quit, leading to £80bn in savings.
There are two million employees in the US government, meaning that a total of 200,000 people could potentially leave their jobs.
While the military and some agencies are likely to increase the size of their staff, the majority of agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings and layoffs, the email said, and warned that federal employees could not be guaranteed of their jobs.
Democratic Senator Tim Kaine on Tuesday called the proposal a “fake offer”, saying Mr Trump did not have authority to offer it and employees may not get the promised payouts.
Mr Trump has made cutting the size of the Government one of his key priorities, with tech billionaire Elon Musk appointed to lead a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce federal spending.
Mr Musk sent a similar email to employees of X, formerly Twitter, when he assumed control of the company in 2022.
