Musk Buyout Has US Workers Vowing to Stay Until ‘Told to Leave’

It’s an early test for Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s effort to shrink the US government: Thursday is the deadline for federal employees to accept a buyout offer delivered via email last week.

The choice is stark for more than two million federal employees from Maine to Alaska being pushed to leave their jobs. In exchange for a voluntary resignation, the new administration says workers will get pay and benefits through September. They wouldn’t need to return to the office and could even take other jobs.

More than 20,000 employees — roughly 1% percent of the federal workforce — have signed up for the offer, with ...