Thousands of U.S. federal workers take buyouts amid Trump’s workforce cuts

Some of the 75,000 U.S. federal workers who accepted a resignation buyout were ready to retire anyway. Others were motivated by looming workforce cuts or the order to return to the office.

Many felt insulted by Donald Trump's description of civil service as bloated and ineffective. They told Reuters they were proud of their work and committed to the American people.

The administration, which aims to cut the 2.3 million civilian workforce through various strategies, including firings, promised to pay those who voluntarily left by Sept. 30. A judge approved the plan earlier this week.

Here are five stories of those who took the buyout:

‘A unicorn job’

Jourdain Solis, 27, of Fresno, California, accepted the buyout because he had heard that the program he works for at the Internal Revenue Service, checking compliance with fuel tax laws, would be eliminated.

"I love my job. I get to make my own schedule, and find the people and businesses I audit for tax compliance," Solis said. "I get a government vehicle and travel all the time. This is like a unicorn job."

Solis said he wanted to retire from the IRS but would still get a small pension because he has been with the government for five years.

He plans to look for state or city jobs and private sector positions in accounting or administration. In his time off, Solis hopes to travel internationally. The administration urged workers to accept the buyouts by suggesting they take a vacation to their "dream destination."

Retiring anyway

Kurt Floyd, 62, of Arlington, Texas, took the buyout because he was planning on retiring after 39 years of government service. Most recently, Floyd worked as a program manager supporting the U.S. Border Patrol, Homeland Security, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"I figured why not go ahead and take it, and have a vacation for seven, eight months and be retired," Floyd said.

His career has spanned two tours with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and he has been with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since 1997. Floyd was already going into the office twice a week, and the order to go in for five days "didn't bother me a bit," he said.

A retirement seminar from a former government employee helped Floyd decide to take the buyout. He has an 11-year-old child and plans to spend his retirement close to home and fishing.

‘A really hard decision’

Jennifer Mercer, 46, of Hollywood, Maryland, who works on contracts at a naval base, called taking the buyout "a really hard decision."

"I spent many days in tears," she said.

Mercer said she accepted the offer because she is worried about getting laid off eventually and was unable to go into the office five days a week as Trump ordered. She is a single mother to a 10-year-old son, and could not be at the office at 8:30 a.m. and drop her son off at school at the same time.

On Friday Mercer, who also was looking for approval for a hybrid schedule, was still waiting on confirmation that her resignation had been accepted.

"It's an extremely difficult position to put us in, because I don't trust them, the administration, or Elon Musk," she said, referring to the billionaire and close Trump ally who is leading the administration's massive government cost-cutting effort.

‘We truly care’

Ken Brown, 63, of Lafayette, Indiana, took the buyout because going into the office five days a week would not work for him. Before the return-to-office order, he had been commuting at his own expense from Indiana to the D.C. area to meet his job's requirement of being in the office four times per two-week pay period.

Brown said he had been willing to continue that commute for several more years, but that going in five days a week was "not an option for me."

He works at Health and Human Services, helping provide healthcare to people who lack insurance or are isolated or medically vulnerable.

"I really like the work. This is the thing getting lost in the news and vitriol against the federal workforce," he said. "We truly care about the work we do on behalf of the American people."

‘Losing a career’

Constantine Kiriakou, 37, of Virginia Beach, planned to accept the buyout after his wife lost her USAID job. But the program closed before he could act.

"I’m not losing a job, I’m losing a career," Kiriakou said. He and his wife sold a car and cut daycare to save money.

The Trump administration’s workforce reduction plan has left thousands of former workers contemplating their next steps.