The U.S. Education Department announced Tuesday that it will cut nearly half of its workforce, aligning with President Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate the agency entirely.
Hundreds of employees will be laid off starting Tuesday evening, in addition to those who accepted voluntary buyouts. These cuts will reduce the department’s staff—roughly 4,100 at the start of the Trump administration—by nearly 50%.
“Today’s reduction in force reflects the Department of Education’s commitment to efficiency, accountability, and ensuring that resources are directed where they matter most: to students, parents, and teachers,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. She also expressed appreciation for the contributions of departing employees.
McMahon later confirmed that these layoffs mark the first step toward dismantling the department, a goal Trump has long championed. While a full shutdown would require congressional approval, CNN reported last week that White House officials have drafted an executive order instructing McMahon to begin the process.
When asked on Fox News whether the layoffs signaled the start of a total shutdown, McMahon responded, “Yes, actually it is, because that was the president’s mandate to me—shut down the Department of Education.” She described the move as an effort to eliminate “bureaucratic bloat.”
About 1,300 employees received layoff notices and will officially be terminated in 90 days, according to senior officials. Beginning Wednesday, they will work remotely before transitioning to paid administrative leave on March 21. Severance pay will be provided based on their length of service.
These cuts come on top of the 63 probationary employees dismissed last month under a White House directive, officials said. Additionally, more than 300 employees opted for voluntary separation incentives of up to $25,000, while approximately 260 accepted a deferred resignation package.
Tuesday’s layoffs follow similar cuts across federal agencies as part of President Trump’s and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency’s ongoing efforts to reduce the size of the federal government.
‘Significant Changes to the Way We Work’
Senior officials assured reporters that the cuts would not impact federal student aid “in any way, shape, or form,” though experts have raised concerns about whether the agency can continue its usual operations with such a drastic workforce reduction.
Officials also confirmed that an earlier memo instructing employees to work remotely due to unspecified “security reasons” was directly related to the layoffs. The memo, obtained by CNN, advised staff to work from home until Thursday.
Beginning Wednesday, laid-off employees will telework until March 21 “for safety reasons, to protect the 2,183 employees who will remain after” the cuts are finalized, one senior official said.
As part of the restructuring, several Department of Education offices nationwide—including those in San Francisco and New York—will be permanently closed. The agency also plans to consolidate its three Washington, D.C. offices into a single location.
Just minutes before the deadline for employees to vacate, security guards were seen locking the doors of the Department of Education headquarters in Washington, D.C. Offices are expected to reopen Thursday.
Longtime staffers told CNN they could not recall a time when all department offices were closed simultaneously, even during visits from high-profile officials.
Some Education Department employees previously expressed anxiety over the looming mass layoffs and the anticipated executive order from Trump to further dismantle the agency.
In an email sent to employees unaffected by the cuts, which was obtained by CNN, the agency acknowledged the need for “significant changes to the way that we work.”
“While your position was not directly affected, I understand that seeing valued colleagues and friends depart is never easy,” the agency’s chief human capital officer wrote. “What we choose to prioritize, and in turn, not prioritize, will be critical in this transition.”
Unions Warn of Student Impact
Unions representing Department of Education workers and teachers swiftly condemned the layoffs, raising concerns about the workforce reduction’s effect on the tens of millions of students the agency serves.
“What is clear from the past weeks of mass firings, chaos, and unchecked unprofessionalism is that this regime has no respect for the thousands of workers who have dedicated their careers to serving their fellow Americans,” said Sheria Smith, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252. She also accused the administration of spreading “rampant disinformation” about the services, resources, and programs the Department of Education provides.
Another major teachers’ union sharply criticized Trump and Elon Musk for reshaping the federal government in a way that led to Tuesday’s mass cuts. “The real victims will be our most vulnerable students,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in a statement.
Such a drastic workforce reduction “is a reason to be concerned,” an expert previously told CNN.
“If [Trump] says, ‘We’re going to have a 50% reduction in staff,’ there is reason to be concerned about how the system will work: Is that enough people?” said Neal McCluskey, director of the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute. “We’re going to learn whether or not they can do the job with fewer of them.”
