President Donald Trump’s administration is offering federal workers the chance to take a “deferred resignation,” which would mean they agree now to resign but get paid through September.
A senior administration official told NBC News that they expect 5%-10% of the federal workforce to quit, which, they estimate, could lead to around $100 billion in savings.
All full-time federal employees are eligible, except for members of the military, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, positions related to immigration enforcement and national security and other jobs excluded by agencies.
“American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees, and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “If they don’t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of 8 months.”
Axios first reported the buyout offer.
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The offer went out to the federal workforce through a new system the Trump administration set up that gives officials the ability to email all federal employees at once.
The email included a draft resignation letter for them to review. If a person wishes to resign, they will be able to reply with the word “resign.”
The resignation period will begin Tuesday and go through Feb. 6.