More than 15,000 Employees Leaving USDA

Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported that “more than 15,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture employees have taken one of the Trump administration’s two financial incentive offers to leave the agency, according to a readout from a USDA briefing with congressional staff seen by Reuters. The sum represents about 15% of the USDA’s total workforce.”

“President Donald Trump’s administration has offered federal employees several months of pay and benefits if they opt to leave their jobs as part of his effort with billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal workforce,” Douglas reported. “At the USDA, 3,877 staff signed contracts in the agency’s first Deferred Resignation Program in February and 11,305 signed contracts in the second round in April, for a total of 15,182 resignations, according to the readout of the Friday morning briefing.”

“The numbers could rise over the next month because employees over 40 were given more time to decide whether to leave, and some who opted to leave have not yet signed contracts, said the readout,” Douglas reported. “A USDA spokesperson confirmed the total number of staff departures and said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is working to make the agency more efficient.”

What Areas of the USDA are Most Affected?

Politico’s Marcia Brown reported that “key consumer and farmer-facing programs at USDA were not insulated: The readout notes that 555 employees at the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the agency that handles meat inspections and helps respond to the bird flu outbreak, took the offer to resign. More than 1,000 Farm Service Agency and county office employees will also leave, even though Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that their resignations wouldn’t be accepted. And 2,408 staffers are leaving the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which helps farmers manage soil and livestock.”

“The U.S. Forest Service took one of the biggest hits, with more than 4,000 employees accepting the deferred resignation option. The Trump administration has signaled its intent to significantly cut the Forest Service’s budget and transfer its wildfire responsibilities to a new federal agency by 2026,” Brown reported. “More than 1,300 employees at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, 1,255 employees at the Agricultural Research Service, 78 employees from the Economic Research Service, 54 employees from the National Institute for Food and Agriculture and 243 employees from the National Agricultural Statistics Service will also depart.”

“At least 498 staffers have left the Food and Nutrition Service, which handles 16 nutrition programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that serves more than 40 million Americans, school meal programs and federal funding for food banks,” Brown reported. “Employees are also leaving regional offices, said one person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly.”

Some USDA Agencies Looking to Re-Hire Positions, However

NPR’s Andrea Hsu reported this past weekend that “as the Trump administration marches forward with its plan to dramatically slash the federal workforce, agencies are bidding farewell to employees who have agreed to resign now in exchange for pay and benefits through September.”

“But at least one agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), is already scrambling to fill some of those newly vacant roles, according to internal communications seen by NPR,” Hsu reported. “On Thursday, a day after the departure of hundreds of employees who accepted the deferred resignation offer, remaining APHIS employees received an email from human resources announcing ‘lateral transfer opportunities.’ Qualified employees are invited to apply by Tuesday for 73 open positions ‘that are especially critical to fill as soon as possible,’ the email said.”

After paying people to leave, the U.S. Department of #Agriculture‘s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), is already scrambling to fill some of those newly vacant roles, according to internal communications seen by NPR.https://t.co/NzVyKhLWtf

— FarmPolicy (@FarmPolicy) May 6, 2025

“The agency is looking for scientists, budget analysts, technicians, inspectors, and a veterinarian to carry out its mission to protect the health, welfare, and value of America’s plants, animals, and natural resources,” Hsu reported. “The immediate posting of these jobs has infuriated employees who took the deferred resignation offer out of fear that their positions would be eliminated.”