Around 500 employees at the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) have accepted offers to leave the agency in response to a $50,000 buyout and deferred-resignation proposal, according to individuals familiar with the situation.
Significant departures are expected in the enforcement, exams, and general counsel divisions, according to sources who requested anonymity due to the confidential nature of the information. The number of employees accepting the buyout may increase as the Friday deadline for the $50,000 incentive approaches, though some departures might occur later in the year.
These departures constitute roughly 10% of the SEC’s approximately 5,000 employees. Some former employees have voiced concerns about the agency’s ability to manage a financial crisis due to this reduction in talent.
To be eligible for the buyout, employees must have been employed by the agency before January 24. They must opt for resignation, transfer to another agency, or immediate retirement. If they accept the separation agreement and return to the SEC within five years, they are required to repay the incentive fully.
An SEC spokesperson declined to comment on the resignations.
The agency is planning further cost reductions, including terminating leases for its Los Angeles and Philadelphia offices. The General Services Administration is also considering ending the lease for the Chicago office, though doing so may incur a substantial financial penalty, according to Bloomberg.
Regional offices, which manage a significant portion of exams and enforcement activities, are impacted by these reductions. Senior positions within regional offices have been cut, although individuals in these roles are not being compelled to leave.
These SEC cuts have faced criticism for being inconsistent with the administration’s goal of reducing federal government costs.
Columbia Law School professors John Coates, John Coffee Jr., James Cox, Merritt Fox, and Joel Seligman criticized the move in a blog post, stating, “The Trump administration may claim that all agencies should be reduced in size by a roughly similar margin, in effect sharing proportionate reductions. But this ignores one extraordinary fact about the SEC: It consistently generates more in fees than in operating expenses.”
Earlier reports from Reuters indicated that hundreds of employees would depart the agency.
This report originally appeared on Fortune.com.
