Treasury Renews Deferred Resignation Offer Ahead of Job Cuts (1)

The Treasury Department is offering some employees a second chance to accept deferred resignation as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce.

Treasury employees who received the offer will have one week beginning April 7 to accept it, according to a Friday night email obtained by Bloomberg Law. The offer allows employees to remain on administrative leave and be paid through September, although workers who accept it can “offboard” before then, the email said.

Treasury Department bureaus include the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates national banks, as well as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

IRS employees, where formal reduction-in-force efforts have already begun, received the deferred resignation offer. It was unclear which other Treasury employees did as well.

The Treasury Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday outside of regular business hours.

Not all employees who apply for the deferred resignation program are guaranteed to be accepted, the email said.

“Treasury is offering DRP 2.0 to most permanent and term employees, including employees in their probationary or trial periods,” the email said. “However, bureaus may choose to exclude certain mission critical offices, functions, or individuals.”

Employees would be able to start their administrative leave as early as April 28 and no later than June 2.

In addition to the renewed DRP offer, Treasury said it has received Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, which would allow employees age 50 and over and with at least 20 years of experience, or those with at least 25 years experience at any age, to opt for retirement from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31.

Workforce Cuts

The administration first offered deferred resignations to federal employees in the days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Around 75,000 of the federal government’s 2.4 million workers accepted the offer ahead of a February deadline, including 140 OCC employees. The OCC had around 3,600 employees at the start of this year.

The Labor, Interior, and other departments this week started a second round of deferred resignation offers.

The deferred resignation program, championed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, will likely be the first step toward more formal buyouts and other reduction-in-force tools to eliminate workers.

Federal agencies had a March 13 deadline to provide plans to the White House for “large-scale” RIFs.

The Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, which provides grants and other support to certified financial institutions, was separately on a list of smaller entities targeted for potential budget cuts in a March 14 executive order from Trump.

Treasury subsequently determined the CDFI Fund is almost entirely mandated by Congress, likely insulating it from drastic spending cuts.

But industry and other CDFI Fund supporters are concerned Treasury leaders may cut the office’s staff members, making it difficult for participating banks, credit unions, and nonprofit loan funds to access the support they need.