Federal Workers Given Buyout Option as Trump Plans Downsizing \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The Trump administration has launched an unprecedented effort to shrink the federal workforce, offering buyouts to employees who resign by February 6. A memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) outlines stricter conduct standards, a return-to-office mandate, and future downsizing. Critics, including federal unions, argue the move is a politically motivated purge, with significant risks to government services.
Trump’s Federal Workforce Overhaul Quick Looks
- Buyout Offer Deadline: Federal employees can accept buyouts worth eight months’ salary if they resign by February 6.
- Strict Conduct Standards: Workers will face “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” under the new administration.
- Return to Office Mandate: Most remote workers must return to in-person work five days a week.
- Loyalty Emphasis: The administration prioritizes employees deemed “reliable, loyal, and trustworthy.”
- Union Backlash: Labor groups say the move pressures non-loyalists to leave and weakens government services.
- Schedule Career/Policy Order: A new order replaces Biden’s protections, reintroducing Trump’s controversial Schedule F.
- Mass Reclassification: Agencies must recommend workers for reclassification within 90 days.
Deep Look
The Trump administration has unveiled sweeping changes to the federal workforce, offering buyouts to employees who voluntarily resign by February 6 while also introducing strict new conduct standards and a return-to-office mandate. The initiative, detailed in a memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), represents an aggressive effort to downsize the federal government at an unprecedented pace.
The move comes as part of President Donald Trump’s broader vision to remake Washington, a goal he has emphasized throughout his political career. However, the scale and speed of the plan have raised concerns about its impact on essential government services, as well as allegations that it is being used as a tool to remove federal employees who are not aligned with the administration’s policies.
Mass Buyouts and Workforce Reductions
The OPM memo, sent to millions of federal employees, outlines an immediate buyout program that allows workers to voluntarily leave their positions in exchange for a severance package worth approximately eight months of salary. The offer is open for a limited time, with employees required to submit their resignations by February 6.
In an unprecedented move, the memo provides a “deferred resignation letter” for employees who opt in, stating:
“If you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30.”
To accept the buyout, employees are instructed to reply to the email with a single word: “Resign.”
With the federal government employing over 3 million people—making it the nation’s 15th largest workforce—experts warn that even a small percentage of employees accepting the buyout could cause major disruptions in government operations. Agencies handling healthcare, national security, air travel, consumer safety, and veterans’ affairs could face critical staff shortages, leading to delays in essential services.
New Conduct Standards and Political Loyalty Push
The OPM memo also introduces “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” for federal employees, signaling a shift toward stricter workplace expectations.
“The federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work,” the memo states.
Critics argue that the emphasis on “loyalty” echoes previous efforts by Trump to reshape the government workforce by eliminating career civil servants who do not align with his administration’s policies. Federal unions and watchdog groups warn that the language could be used to justify widespread firings of employees deemed politically undesirable.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, condemned the plan, calling it a “purge of dedicated career federal employees.”
“Purging the federal government of experienced public servants will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning government,” Kelley said.
Return-to-Office Mandate
Another major shift outlined in the memo is a strict return-to-office policy, requiring most federal employees who have been working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic to resume in-person work five days a week.
“The substantial majority of federal employees who have been working remotely since COVID will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week,” the memo states.
Trump himself reinforced this stance over the weekend, declaring:
“You have to go to your office and work. Otherwise, you’re not going to have a job.”
While some agencies had already been pushing for increased in-person work, the mandate marks a drastic shift from the flexible work policies established under the Biden administration.
Schedule Career/Policy: Trump’s New Workforce Order
In addition to buyouts and new workplace policies, the Trump administration has reinstated a controversial plan to reclassify federal employees, potentially stripping thousands of workers of long-standing job protections.
A new executive order called “Schedule Career/Policy” replaces Trump’s previous Schedule F order, which was issued late in his first term and sought to convert thousands of federal workers into at-will political appointees.
President Joe Biden rescinded Schedule F immediately upon taking office in 2021 and later enacted a rule making it harder to fire career federal employees. However, Trump’s latest executive order nullifies those protections and sets new deadlines for agency heads to submit lists of employees for reclassification.
The OPM memo instructs federal agencies to begin recommending workers for reclassification within 90 days, with initial personnel recommendations due on a rolling basis. Agencies must also assign a designated contact person for the reclassification process by Wednesday.
Charles Ezell, the acting director of OPM, made clear that agencies should move swiftly, stating in the memo:
“Agencies are encouraged to submit recommendations on a rolling basis before this date.”
Implications and Future Concerns
The rapid implementation of Trump’s federal workforce overhaul has raised alarms across government agencies, labor unions, and policy analysts. The combination of mass buyouts, new loyalty-based conduct standards, mandatory in-person work, and the reintroduction of political reclassification represents one of the most aggressive efforts in modern history to reshape the federal government.
While Trump’s supporters see the move as a necessary step to reduce bureaucracy and promote efficiency, critics argue that the plan is a deliberate effort to dismantle the civil service and install political loyalists.
The potential impact on essential government services remains unclear, but experts warn of major disruptions across agencies responsible for:
- Veterans Affairs – Loss of frontline healthcare workers
- Food and Drug Administration – Reduced oversight of food safety inspections
- Small Business Administration – Delays in processing loans for businesses
- Transportation Security Administration – Shortages of airport security staff
- Environmental Protection Agency – Fewer scientists monitoring air and water quality
With Trump’s OPM aggressively pushing forward, federal employees now face a historic reshaping of their workforce—one that could redefine the future of the U.S. government.
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