The U.S. Department of Education will cut half its staff under newly confirmed Secretary Linda McMahon to position the agency for possible closure.
All the agency’s divisions are impacted, according to a Tuesday announcement . Laid-off employees will start administrative leave March 21, and they will receive severance pay or retirement benefits. Roughly 600 employees already voluntarily resigned, with 259 employees accepting deferred resignations and 313 accepting voluntary separation incentives.
The Department started with 4,133 employees when President Donald Trump was inaugurated, according to the agency. Following Tuesday, its workforce will be about 2,183 employees…