By Leah Douglas
(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering employees financial incentives to leave the agency this month, according to a Monday evening email sent to staff and shared with Reuters.
Trump in a February 26 executive order directed all federal agencies to reduce staffing, part of a broader effort by Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal government.
In January, the administration made a similar financial offer to 2 million federal workers, which it called the “Fork in the Road” program. Some USDA staff accepted the offer, but it is not clear how many.
Employees at the USDA who opt in to the Deferred Resignation Program by April 8 would be put on administrative leave with full pay and benefits through September 30, said an email to staff shared with Reuters.
Their leave would begin sometime between April 15 and 30, the email said.
The agency is also offering early retirement to employees who are at least 50 years old with 20 years of federal service, or any age with 25 years of federal service, according to the email.
The USDA has not yet finalized its staff reduction plans but the plan will include relocating employees away from the Washington, D.C., area, according to the email.
“We cannot give you full assurance regarding which positions will remain – or where they will be located – after USDA’s restructuring,” the email said.
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Department of Energy also made financial offers to workers to resign on Monday, according to a report by E&E News that Reuters could not immediately verify.
Nearly 6,000 probationary workers were fired at the USDA in February and then brought back in recent weeks under court order.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas, Editing by Franklin Paul)
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