Education Department Laying Off Half Its Workforce as Trump Prepares to Abolish Agency

The Department of Education is laying off about 50 percent of its workforce starting this week as President Donald Trump prepares to formally abolish the agency through a planned executive order.

The job cuts affect roughly 1,300 career employees, who were told to turn in government property and clean out their desks before leaving. Nearly 600 employees who voluntarily resigned or retired are included in the reduction-in-force action. The mass layoffs were announced on Tuesday evening.