The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is offering select employees $50,000 to resign or retire under an early exit program, according to an agency memo.
The SEC, along with other federal agencies, is exploring ways to reduce staff and costs in response to directives from the Trump administration. Employees have until March 21 to decide, according to a February 28 all-staff memo from SEC Chief Operating Officer Ken Johnson.
President Trump and senior adviser Elon Musk have been leading efforts to overhaul a bloated and inefficient federal workforce. The administration and the Department of Government Efficiency have eliminated more than 100,000 civilian government jobs out of the federal workforce’s 2.3 million positions through a mix of layoffs and buyouts.
The SEC has also informed regional office directors that their positions will be eliminated, as previously reported by Reuters. Additionally, the agency notified unionized workers last week that they must return to the office in mid-April, a decision the union has called illegal.
The SEC’s voluntary separation and early retirement programs allow permanent employees to resign, transfer to another agency, or retire immediately, according to the memo.
