US President, Donald Trump has offered buyout packages to almost all federal employees, a major move designed to shrink and reform the US government.
In an email sent on Tuesday, his administration told workers they had to decide by 6 February whether they wanted to be part of a “deferred resignation” programme.
If they agree by then to quit in September, the message said, they would receive about eight months of salary as a severance package.
The Trump administration expects up to 10% of employees to accept the offer – which equates to about 200,000 of the more than two million people who work for the federal government, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Senior Trump officials told US media that the buyouts could save the government up to $100bn (£80bn).
The message from the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the government’s HR agency, highlighted planned reforms including a requirement that most employees work in their offices five days a week.
Since returning to the White House last week, Trump has already declared the end of Covid-era home working practices.
