Donald Trump is aggressively pushing forward with plans to shrink the US government by offering eight months’ pay to federal employees who quit their jobs.
They have until 6 February to decide whether to accept the deal, according to a memo from the Office of Personnel Management.
The US government’s human resources agency also warned of future downsizing, reduced remote working and said in future it would enforce “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct”.
There are more than three million federal government employees and the impact of significant job cuts would be unclear.
The government-wide “deferred resignation” scheme excludes immigration and national security-related positions, along with US Postal Service staff.
Up to 10% of employees are expected to accept the offer, according to Sky’s US partner NBC News.
Union: Attempt to entice or scare
A union representing federal employees described the plan as a “purge” targeting workers not considered loyal to the new administration.
“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,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents about 150,000 federal workers, warned its members “the email is designed to entice or scare you into resigning”, adding: “We strongly urge you not to resign in response.”
The memo, sent by email to millions of federal employees, said: “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.”
Elon Musk: Fork in the road
The email subject line “Fork in the road” was referenced in a post on X by billionaire Elon Musk, who is overseeing a government cost-cutting effort. Mr Musk sent an email in 2022 to Twitter employees matching the same subject line.
The emailed message includes a “deferred resignation letter” for federal employees to begin leaving their posts and invites them to accept by sending a reply with “Resign” in the message body.
Mr Musk posted a message on X, urging federal workers to “hit send”.
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Legal challenge to US funding freeze
Meanwhile, Mr Trump’s government-wide funding freeze, affecting grants and loans, has created widespread confusion and a legal challenge.
The planned freeze is part of a sweeping effort to eliminate certain government spending.
The Office of Management and Budget sent a two-page memo to all federal agencies on Monday, directing them to “temporarily pause” spending that could conflict with the president’s agenda.
On Tuesday, non-profit organisations said they were unable to get into a system used to access federal funds to pay for expenses, like salaries and rent.
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A lawsuit filed by non-profit groups has already led to a legal challenge which put Mr Trump’s plan on hold.
US District Judge Loren L AliKhan blocked the funding freeze only minutes before it was scheduled to take effect on Tuesday evening.
Another court hearing is scheduled on Monday to consider the issue.
