The Trump administration is set to offer to pay federal employees who don’t want to return to office through September 30, so long as they resign by February 6, in an effort to shrink the size of the government.

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday is set to send out a memo to all federal employees giving them the chance to opt in to a plan that would allow them to retain their pay and benefits until later this year if they choose not to return to work in person.

The “deferred resignation program,” that is according to an email sent to federal employees and seen by news agencies, would allow federal employees to remain on the payroll through September 30 without having to work.

The email gives federal employees until February 6 to decide if they want to take part in the program. Federal buyouts are generally capped at $25,000 (€24,000).

Trump wants to shrink government

The Trump administration also warned of plans to shrink the size of the government as it expects to see a “more streamlined and flexible workforce.”

While the military and some agencies are likely to have increases in their staffs, the majority of agencies are likely to have reductions through reorganization and layoffs, the e-mail said.

Earlier in the week, the US Department of Justice said it had fired several career lawyers who worked on Trump’s criminal cases.

Largest federal employee union warns of consequences

In response to the administration’s initiative, American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley said the proposal “should not be viewed as voluntary.”

“Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” he added.

He also warned that purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have “vast, unintended consequences.”