USDA: Over 15,000 Employees Accept Buyouts

More than 15,000 USDA employees have taken one of the Trump administration's two financial incentive offers to leave the agency.  According to Reuters, the sum represents about 15% of the USDA's total workforce.

President Trump's administration has offered federal employees several months of pay and benefits if they opt to leave their jobs as part of his effort to shrink the federal workforce.  The numbers could rise over the next month because employees over the age of 40 were given more time to decide whether to leave the Department.

Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins has exempted 53 position classifications from the ongoing federal hiring freeze, including wildland firefighters, veterinarians and food safety inspectors, to ensure critical agency functions continue, according to the spokesperson.

Reuters went on to say that more than 260,000 people across the federal civilian workforce have been fired, taken early retirement, earmarked for termination or accepted buyouts since the start of Trump's second term in office.  That represents about 10% of the federal civilian workforce.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com