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The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offered voluntary buyouts to its approximately 80,000 employees on Friday night as part of ongoing efforts to downsize the federal workforce, according to sources familiar with the matter.
An unsigned email sent to HHS employees offered a “voluntary separation incentive payment” with a deadline of March 14 to accept the offer. Neither the White House nor HHS immediately responded to requests for comment.
The move comes as the Trump administration continues its aggressive push to reduce the size of the federal government. The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has spearheaded efforts to streamline agencies through layoffs, program eliminations, and deep budget cuts.
President Donald Trump addressed these efforts during a Cabinet meeting this week, making it clear that agency heads—not Musk—are ultimately responsible for staffing decisions. However, he warned that if agency leaders fail to make sufficient cuts, Musk would step in.
“If they can cut, it’s better. If they don’t cut, then Elon will do the cutting,” Trump stated on Thursday.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was confirmed by the Senate last month, has been vocal about reshaping the agency’s workforce. In a February interview on Fox News’ Ingraham Angle, he suggested that certain employees should consider leaving.
“If you’ve been involved in good science, you have got nothing to worry about,” Kennedy said. “If you care about public health, you’ve got nothing to worry about. If you’re in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, then I’d say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.”
HHS plays a critical role in public health, overseeing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The latter agency has already undergone substantial workforce reductions in recent months.
Some experts warn that downsizing HHS could hinder Kennedy’s ability to implement his own agenda, including changes to vaccine policies and public health regulations.
“Cutting staff is one challenge Mr. Kennedy will face,” said Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy expert at the University of California, San Francisco. “That challenge will be exacerbated by his lack of expertise about the department’s general functions, something in which an expert staff could help him with.”
The buyouts are being offered under the Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) Authority, which allows federal agencies undergoing restructuring to provide employees with lump-sum payments of up to $25,000 in exchange for their resignation.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has used buyouts to trim the federal workforce. In January, the administration extended a similar offer to roughly 2 million federal workers, resulting in approximately 75,000 voluntary departures.
As the March 14 deadline approaches, it remains to be seen how many HHS employees will accept the offer—and what impact the staffing reductions will have on the agency’s ability to carry out its mission.
