Trump offers federal employees eight months' pay to quit
Trump offers federal employees eight months' pay to quit
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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.".
