The US Education Department is slashing about third of its workforce and ending contracts for local business properties across major metropolitan areas, such as New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, according to senior officials, amid President Donald Trump’s request to remove the ministry completely.
” As part of the Department of Education’s final goal, the Department immediately initiated a reduction in pressure affects nearly 50 cent of the Department’s workplace,” said a speech.
Starting Tuesday night, hundreds of employees will encounter cancellation, in addition to those who accepted deliberate “buyouts”. These activities may reduce the agency’s 4,100-strong labor by quarter, as reported by AFP.
Nearly 1,300 staff members will get termination notices with a 90-day see time. Beginning Wednesday, affected people will work remotely and move to paid operational leave from March 21. Affected employees may telemedicine from Wednesday until March 21″ for health reasons to defend the 2,183 employees that are going to be after” the labor decrease concludes, according to a senior official. Compensation plans will be based on length of service.
These reductions follow the termination of 63 temporary employees under a new White House mandate. Moreover, over 300 team members accepted volunteer parting bonuses up to$ 25,000, whilst about 260 took deferred withdrawal items.
The ministry will also near several local offices, including those in San Francisco and New York, finally consolidating operations into a single Washington, DC area, where it currently maintains three offices.
Additionally, agency representatives clarified that the previous notification to staff regarding temporary office closure, citing unspecified” security reasons”, was actually related to these layoffs. The internal communication, which CNN accessed, had directed staff members to operate from home until Thursday.
As these decisions to cutdown on Education department’s workforce were announced, security personnel were observed putting lock on the Department headquarters in Washington, DC, moments before staff evacuation, expecting to resume operations on Thursday.
Meanwhile, senior officials assured that federal student aid would remain unaffected, despite experts ‘ concerns about the department’s ability to function effectively with such significant staff reductions.
The current round of cuts aligns with similar downsizing across federal agencies, part of Trump and Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s initiative to reduce federal government size.
” Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said. ” I appreciate the work of the dedicated public servants and their contributions to the Department,” she added.
Additionally, addressing Trump’s shutdown threats, she added,”” His directive to me, clearly, is to shut down the Department of Education, which we know we’ll have to work with Congress, you know, to get that accomplished. “
CNN earlier reported that White House officials have drafted an executive order instructing McMahon to begin dismantling the department.
A senior agency official stated on Tuesday:” The president campaigned on bringing substantial reforms to the civil service and to the federal government and this importantly, to send education back to the states and return power to students and families. We are proceeding with a piece of the substantial reforms today. “
Veteran department employees told CNN they cannot recall any previous complete office closure, even during high-profile visits.
Several Department of Education staff members previously expressed anxiety about potential mass redundancies and Trump’s anticipated executive order.
The unions representing education workers and teachers promptly criticised the cuts, highlighting concerns about workforce impact and effects on millions of students served by the agency.
” What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serve their fellow Americans,” stated Sheria Smith, president of American Federation of Government Employees Local 252.
The National Education Association president, Becky Pringle, criticised Trump and Musk’s federal government restructuring, stating,” The real victims will be our most vulnerable students. “
