ByCharles Kennedy– Apr 02, 2025, 10:30 AM CDT
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is reinstating the so-called Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) to incentivize employees to leave voluntarily before layoffs begin as part of the Trump Administration’s push to reduce the federal workforce and bureaucracy.
“This is a difficult but necessary effort to make government more efficient and accountable. In conducting any such exercise, it is important to consider how optimization initiatives could impact DOE personnel,” Secretary Wright wrote in a memo to staff obtained by POLITICO’s E&E News.
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“Therefore, to mitigate the effect of potential involuntary separations, I am immediately instituting a DOE Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), which allows for employees to take needed time for future planning while continuing to be paid through the designated period,” Secretary Wright added.
Staffers who agree to opt into the program will be placed on administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period – which is September 30, 2025, at the latest – and will continue to receive full salary and benefits.
Energy Department employees have until noon on April 8 to reply to the offer for voluntary resignation, according to the memo cited by E&E News.
Some DOE staff who are involved in national security, public safety, and other essential roles may not be eligible to opt in in this program, according to the emails sent to employees.
The federal workforce reductions are part of President Donald Trump’s plan to cut bureaucracy and make federal agencies more efficient. President Trump issued an executive order in February to reduce the size of the Federal Government, which, the President says, “will minimize Government waste and abuse, reduce inflation, and promote American freedom and innovation.”
The Department of Energy is not the only U.S. federal government department to offer voluntary redundancies, according to emails to staff shared with Reuters.
The Department of Agriculture is also offering the Deferred Resignation Program, as well as early retirement to employees who are at least 50 years old with 20 years of federal service, or any age with 25 years of federal service, according to the email Reuters has seen.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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