Already more than 1,000 workers down, EPA tries to convince others to depart

Source: USA Today

April 28, 2025, 6:11 p.m. ET


Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency got another nudge toward the door in an email offering a second chance at voluntary retirement or deferred resignation. The agency is encouraging thousands of workers who remain after several rounds of buyouts and layoffs to voluntarily leave the agency, according to an April 28 email received by USA TODAY.

The ongoing staff reductions are part of a sweeping effort by President Donald Trump's administration to slash the size of the federal work force and reduce federal spending and the federal deficit.

The EPA, charged with protecting human health and the environment since 1970, has already reduced its staff by more than 1,000 workers, Administrator Lee Zeldin said previously. That includes a reported 388 probationary employees terminated in February and hundreds of employees who accepted the administration's initial deferred resignation, known as the Fork-in-the-Road program.

It's unknown how many EPA employees accepted the Fork-in-the-Road or the voluntary retirement offers. Before the reductions started, the agency had an estimated work force of roughly 15,000.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/04/28/epa-staff-cuts-voluntary-retirement-resignation/83329753007/