Trump Offers Federal Workers A “Buyout,” Xitter Sees A Con

Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty

President Donald Trump’s administration has offered federal workers a buyout. However, many see it as a false offer, speaking out about it on social media.

On Tuesday (January 28), the administration of President Donald Trump announced that it was offering buyouts to all federal employees who choose to leave their positions by February 6. The buyout offer was presented in an email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), where employees were offered seven months’ pay if they accepted the buyout. The move is seen as a dramatic effort to shrink the federal government workforce, with the administration claiming that only 6% of federal workers are physically in office. (That was found to be false in a report by Axios.)

“The substantial majority of federal employees who have been working remotely since Covid will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week,” the detailed memo from OPM reads. The offer exempts those in the Postal Service as well as those with positions of national security. The email was found to have a subject line and wording similar to an email Elon Musk sent to employees of X, formerly Twitter, in 2022 after he acquired the social media platform (in that email he asked that employees leave, or stay and become “hardcore.” Musk, a Trump ally, is currently overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and acknowledged the similarities on X. 

Trump admin’s memo to federal workers today vs. Elon Musk’s memo to Twitter employees before laying off 80% of staff.

More on how Musk’s fingerprints are all over this: https://t.co/w6QwKdEWJD pic.twitter.com/HzcjMkz4Bv

— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) January 29, 2025

The move comes with further pushes by Trump and his administration to institute a system of loyalists. On Monday (January 27), it removed a 2024 protection for workers from firing from the Biden administration in a memo. “Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” said Everett Kelley, the president of AFGE, the largest federal union in a statement.

This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders & policies, it is clear that Trump’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to. https://t.co/vqSGIdwIzw

— AFGE (@AFGENational) January 28, 2025

Others swiftly called out Trump for trying to bully federal workers with the buyout online and offline, noting that those who choose it won’t even get retirement benefits. Democratic Senator Tim Kaine joined others of his party sounding the alarm in a speech. “He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer. If you accept that offer and resign, he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors. He doesn’t have any authority to do this. Do not be fooled by this guy,” he said.