Roughly 15,000 employees at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have accepted voluntary resignation offers under the Trump administration’s restructuring plan, cutting the agency’s workforce by 15%. USDA officials say the move is part of Secretary Brooke Rollins’s push to streamline operations and prioritize support for farmers and producers.
The Deferred Retirement Program, described as “completely voluntary,” was used to let employees determine their own futures, according to a USDA spokesperson. The move follows previous mass firings of probationary staff—some later reinstated after federal intervention—and coincides with a $1 billion reduction in local food programs.
Among the departments affected: over 2,400 employees from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and hundreds from the Food Safety and Inspection Service and Farm Service Agency. Some resignations were not accepted, though many staffers still opted to leave.
Rollins emphasized future trade expansion with countries like the U.K., Japan, and Brazil, noting a scale-back in business with China amid ongoing trade tensions.
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