Trump administration nearly halves Education Department workforce amid threats to dismantle agency – The Times of India

The US Education Department is slashing about half of its workforce and ending leases for regional office properties across major metropolitan areas, such as New York, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland, according to senior officials, amid President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate the department entirely.
“As part of the Department of Education’s final mission, the Department today initiated a reduction in force impacting nearly 50 percent of the Department’s workforce,” said a statement.
Starting Tuesday evening, hundreds of employees will face termination, in addition to those who accepted voluntary “buyouts”. These actions will reduce the department’s 4,100-strong workforce by half, as reported by AFP.
Approximately 1,300 staff members will receive termination notices with a 90-day notice period. Beginning Wednesday, affected employees will work remotely and transition to paid administrative leave from March 21. Affected employees will telework from Wednesday until March 21 “for safety reasons to protect the 2,183 employees that are going to remain after” the workforce reduction concludes, according to a senior official. Severance packages will be based on length of service.
These reductions follow the dismissal of 63 probationary employees under a recent White House directive. Also, over 300 staff members accepted voluntary separation incentives up to $25,000, whilst about 260 took deferred resignation packages.
The department will also close several regional offices, including those in San Francisco and New York, eventually consolidating operations into a single Washington, DC location, 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.”