Labor Department Sends More Worker Exit Offers as Cuts Spread

The Department of Labor is offering another round of deferred resignations and early retirement offers to employees across four of its internal offices as part of the Trump administration’s federal workforce downsizing efforts, according to an email viewed by Bloomberg Law.

The move comes as President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency, led by Tesla CEO and billionaire Elon Musk, attempt to slash tens of thousands of employees from the federal payroll.

Civil servants have been forced to navigate several rounds of firings and re-hirings as Trump’s cuts hit roadblocks from federal judges, and department leaders scramble to reverse terminations of critical personnel.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer sent an email April 4 to employees in the International Labor Affairs Bureau, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the Women’s Bureau, and the Office of Public Affairs, saying the department was reopening the Deferred Resignation Program and Voluntary Early Retirement Authority.

The exit offers will remain open from April 4 to April 14, the email said. More information for additional DOL subagencies and separate plans for “Reductions in Force” are expected “in the coming weeks.”

Both the International Labor Affairs Bureau and the Women’s Bureau were subject to previous firings of new hires known as probationary employees. The DOL has said it plans to cut the OFCCP’s workforce by 90% after Trump gutted the federal contractor antibias watchdog’s authority in a January executive order.

“My goal is to provide as many options and as much information as possible to enable informed decision-making regarding your career and your future,” Chavez-DeRemer wrote in the email.

Two spokespeople for DOL did not immediately return requests for comment.