WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 05: Workers and supporters protest against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in front of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on February 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Workers and supporters protested outside ahead of a scheduled meeting between members of Elon Musk’s DOGE staff and DOL management. Al Drago/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Al Drago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Washington, United States — Two million US federal workers face a deadline of Thursday to quit with a guarantee of eight months’ more paid work or risk being fired on the spot — a deal derided by labor groups as a “scam” calculated to undermine the civil service.
President Donald Trump’s so-called “A Fork in the Road” initiative, the most sweeping move against federal spending since he returned to office on January 20, has been wrongly characterized as a “buyout.”
Article continues after this advertisementGovernment “efficiency czar” Elon Musk said it was a chance to “take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill, while receiving your full government pay and benefits.”
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In fact, employees agreeing to leave could be required to work right through the eight-month period, and failure to resign on Thursday may result in them being fired immediately without compensation.
Article continues after this advertisementLabor groups derided the offer as fraught with legal issues and warned against taking it up, questioning whether the government could guarantee the eight months’ pay, given that approved government funding runs out in March.
Article continues after this advertisement“Federal employees shouldn’t be misled by slick talk from unelected billionaires and their lackeys,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), in a swipe at Musk.
Article continues after this advertisement“Despite claims made to the contrary, this deferred resignation scheme is unfunded, unlawful and comes with no guarantees. We won’t stand by and let our members become the victims of this con.”
US media reported that some 20,000 employees — around one percent of the federal workforce — had accepted the deal by Wednesday, a fraction of the best expectations of 100,000, which officials said would entail savings of $100 billion.
Article continues after this advertisementThe AFGE — the largest union for federal employees, representing 800,000 workers — is leading a lawsuit seeking to halt the “arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum.”
The complaint, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, casts doubt on assertions that workers would be free to look for other jobs during their deferment periods, citing ethics regulations.
“Not only are these actions illegal and a scam, but they are eroding the health and well-being of our communities,” said Lee Saunders, president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
“These workers do everything from making sure families receive their Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security benefits on time to protecting our drinking water and the food we eat to overseeing our national security.”
An employee in the US Office of Personnel Management, granted anonymity to talk frankly, told AFP federal workers were mistrustful of advice they were receiving from the administration and felt largely “in the dark” about their options.
“We get what they’re trying to do here. It’s not like we’re pursuing some orderly measure to reduce the size of government,” the employee said.
The sight of investors running to the hills sparked memories of the brief but tumultuous sell-off at the start of August that was partly fuelled by a big miss on US jobs creation.
The company, which was born in March from the merger of French telecoms giant Orange’s unit in Spain and Spanish rival MasMovil, is the country’s second-largest telecoms firm after former state monopoly Telefonica.
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“No, we’re trying to instill a panic so that people just walk out the door and leave government in a crippled statehot646, which is partly their objective.”
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