On Tuesday, the roughly 2 million-strong workers on Uncle Sam’s payroll received notice they had until February 6th to decide whether they would like to resign from their post and accept the buyout.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management, behind the program, called it a “fork in the road” for civil servants who would otherwise be held to new standards of on-the-job performance. 

“The federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes. As a result of these changes (or for other reasons), you may wish to depart the federal government on terms that provide you with sufficient time and economic security to plan for your future,” the OPM informed them.

Those who accept will exit the federal government on September 30th at the end of the current fiscal year. In the meantime, they will be placed on administrative leave and are not expected to work “except in rare cases,” according to the agency.

The offer excludes U.S. Postal Service workers and non-military staff employed in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, including the armed forces.

“That is actually a very generous offer relative to private sector standards,” argued Andrew Yang, a businessman and former 2020 presidential candidate. 

Protected from the private sector’s hire-and-fire mentality

That’s certainly true, but there’s good reason for that added incentive.

Unlike most Americans that can lose their job at any time without notice or even reason so long as it is not illegal, bureaucrats are not considered “at-will” employees subject to such risks.

Until now, career civil service staff have only been fired when there is sufficient cause, like stealing.

Moreover, there is a lengthy process that gives endangered personnel ample opportunity to challenge any impending termination. The idea is that this minimizes the risk of corruption and patronage, but Trump has expressed a desire to roll back these protections.

Information on the Deferred Resignation offer here: https://t.co/SjfTr2v0kY

— U.S. Office of Personnel Management (@USOPM) January 29, 2025

The announcement comes as Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, plans “massive headcount reductions” across the civil service.

Many conservatives and libertarians have long sought to radically reduce the federal government’s size, arguing that removing entrenched interests like bureaucrats will result in the state naturally shrinking over time. 

Now, they argue substantial cutbacks are not just desirable but absolutely necessary since fiscal spending has spiraled out of control.

The deficit for the first fiscal quarter through December soared to $711 billion, an increase of nearly 40% in absolute terms over the previous year’s period. 

Purge could have “vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos”

However, the move sparked criticism from the American Federation of Government Employees, a trade union representing some 800,000 staffers in the U.S. civil service.

“Purging the federal government of dedicated career civil servants will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government,” the AFGE said in a statement.

Senator Tim Kaine, the vice-presidential nominee on Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 White House ticket, even called it a trick. 

“The President has tried to terrorize you for about a week, and then gives you a lil’ sweetheart offer—‘If you resign in the next week, we’re just going to pay you for doing nothing for the next seven months.’ Don’t be fooled,” he said on the floor of the Senate. “The President has no authority to make that offer.”  

Two years ago, I commissioned an art piece: A Fork in the Road.

Had to make sure that civilization took the path most likely to pass the Fermi Great Filters. pic.twitter.com/mYFzdAy6WF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2024

Such tactics are, however, very familiar in corporate America, especially when a new CEO is hired with a mandate to restructure and downsize the company. 

For example, this is the same approach taken by Trump advisor Elon Musk in November 2022 when he took over at Twitter, where he offered employees the opportunity to leave the company should they not be onboard with his plans for the future.

Musk even titled the staff-wide email “Fork in the Road,” just like Tuesday’s letter from the OPM, suggesting the idea was likely his from the outset.

“Worth nothing that the 8-month severance offer through the end of the government fiscal year is the most that is legally allowed without Congress passing another appropriations bill,” Musk argued, refuting Kaine’s claim.