‘We were blindsided’: Federal workers react to buy-out offer

The late-night announcement was an email, sent to some two million federal workers. Subject line: Fork in the Road.

In it, federal employees were advised they could take part in a “deferred resignation program”, an offer akin to gradual buy-out. Anyone who opted in could stop work immediately but be paid as normal for eight months, before formally leaving their role in government at the end of September.

“My email came through at 10:51 last night,” said Monet Hepp, a medical support specialist at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), one of the country’s largest federal agencies with more than 300,000 people on staff. “So people came into the office and were greeted by this. It was the first thing everyone was talking about.”

The directive is part of an ongoing effort by the White House to slash the size of the federal government and weed out employees who do not support Donald Trump’s second term agenda. The administration said it expects as many as 200,000 – roughly 10% of the federal workforce – to accept the offer, which expires on 6 February.

But many federal employees say the proposal has come as a shock, with still unanswered questions about the process piling on uncertainty to an already hectic start to Trump’s second term. And several workers who spoke to the BBC referred to what they called a “threatening” undertone to the offer, the suggestion that even for those who stay, their once-secure government roles are now up in the air.

“At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency,” the OPM statement read.

“The tone of the initial email was like ‘you may be cut anyway,'” Hepp said. “People were blindsided by it.”

As Wednesday morning unfolded, federal employees scrambled to find more information, slowly filling in the gaps left by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government’s human resources agency and the body that sent the Tuesday evening missive.

The message had been so unexpected, so tonally distinct from typical government communication, that some thought it was spam, and promptly deleted it.

“I want to confirm that this is a legitimate communication from OPM,” a public affairs officer with the VA wrote in an email that was sent to employees and shared with the BBC.

Employees said they volleyed questions back and forth to each other, realising their managers knew no more than they did. How would this affect retirement benefits? What about those who quit in the past several days, before the buyout offer?

“Leadership absolutely has no idea what is happening,” said an employee at the Department of Labour, a young mother of a baby daughter who spoke to the BBC on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters.

“So when you ask your boss like, ‘hey, what does this mean?’ they’re like ‘I don’t know. I got the same email, at the same time,'” she said. “Everybody is a little panicked, a little confused.”

And many wondered specifically what guarantees departing employees would have to actually be paid through September, especially beyond March when the budget currently funding the federal government will expire.

“People are concerned about, what if I take it and I don’t get paychecks? Because we haven’t actually seen a contract,” said a counsellor with the VA Pacific District office, who spoke to the BBC on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters. “The language in there [the email] is clear as mud.”

The OPM itself issued follow-up guidance. No, employees who took the offer would not have to continue working through September. Yes, you can seek other employment during the resignation period. No, you are under no obligation to resign.

“The federal workforce is expected to undergo significant near-term changes. As a result of these changes (and 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 – and have a nice vacation,” the OPM wrote on its new FAQ page.

And for at least a couple of the federal employees who spoke to the BBC, this explanation was enough. The VA counsellor said she would likely take the offer, saying she could make more money returning to her private counselling practice.

Hepp, too, said she was strongly considering it because she and her husband, a US marine, may soon be moving overseas. “This may almost be like a bailout for me,” she said.

But others said they found the offer insulting, like an underhanded way of forcing federal employees out.

In a statement, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the largest federal employee union, said the offer “should not be viewed as voluntary”.

“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.”

“It’s just unsettling to see such a blatant attack on federal employees,” said the young VA employee. “It’s kind of like a slap in the face.”

These same employees told the BBC they understood that turning down the deferred resignation would offer no guarantee of job security, citing the OPM.

“I thought this was a stable job, that I would have a stable income, and now that’s all up in the air,” said another employee at Veterans Affairs who previously served in the US Army and spoke to the BBC on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters.

This employee said he plans to “ride it out”, saying he wanted to continue to give veterans their care, despite being “hamstrung” by leadership.

“In my nearly 15 years of federal service, I’ve never seen this,” he said. “The morale has just completely crashed,” he said.