The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offered its 80,000 employees a $25,000 buyout offer as part of President Trump\u2019s plan to scale back government spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Workers can opt into the buyout starting Monday and have until Friday to accept the deal. The offer was sent to staff across HHS, which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, The Associated Press<\/u><\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The email went to a \u201cbroad population of HHS employees\u201d and comes just days before the department has to report to the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump signed an executive order last month directing all agencies to prepare for a reduction in force<\/u><\/a>, looking for a way to have \u201clarge-scale\u201d layoffs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HHS is one of the government\u2019s more costly agencies, with a $1.7 trillion annual budget largely spent on Medicare and Medicaid services, the AP noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2002<\/u><\/a>said he has a list in mind of potential firings and hinted that there would be deep cuts at the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n