Entries are no longer being accepted to a controversial ‘deferred resignation’ scheme offering federal employees financial rewards to leave their jobs, the Trump administration has announced.

Designed to slash the number of US government jobs and precipitate a return to the office, the “buyout” programme provided eight months’ pay to employees who opted to leave their positions.

The closure of the scheme followed a ruling by US district judge George O’Toole that trade unions attempting to halt the programme lacked legal standing. Despite this legal battle, around 75,000 federal employees had already enrolled before the programme’s closure, according to US media reports.

On its website, the US Office of Personnel Management posted that the Fork in the Road programme officially ended at 19:20 ET on 12 February.

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The initiative is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reduce headcount in the federal government, led by tech billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.

The “substantial majority” of federal employees electing to stay in their jobs, will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week

On 28 January, more than two million federal workers were offered eight months of pay to voluntarily resign. The proposal, communicated through an email, was very similar to one sent by Musk to employees after his acquisition of Twitter, now X.

Federal employees initially had until 6 February to accept the deal, although this deadline was extended due to the ensuing legal challenge. It targeted full-time federal employees but excluded postal workers, military personnel, immigration officers and national security officials.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described the offer as “generous”, claiming it would save the American public tens of millions of dollars. However, Democrats, unions, and advocacy groups have raised concerns about a potential “brain drain” in the federal government and questioned the scheme’s legality.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other unions called the offer illegal, arguing that it coerced employees into resigning under the threat of job loss without compensation. They also noted that there was no guarantee of the full eight months of pay, as Congress had not approved government funding beyond mid-March.

Although Judge O’Toole initially issued an injunction to pause the programme, he later ruled that the unions did not have the necessary legal standing to challenge it in court. The White House has not yet commented on the ruling.

AFGE national president Everett Kelley said: “Firing huge numbers of federal employees won’t decrease the need for government services. It will just make those services harder or impossible to access for everyday Americans, veterans, and seniors who depend on them.”

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