• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Thousands Being Offered Thousands To Leave DoD Work Force

By Sgt. 1st Class Doug Sample
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22, 2004 -- Up to 25,000 Defense Department civilians may be eligible for thousands of dollars in separation pay through an early-buyout program.

The program is part of the 2004 National Defense Authorization Act.

Ginger Groeber, deputy undersecretary of defense for civilian personnel and policy, said letters have been sent to government workers, informing them that they may be eligible for up to $25,000 if they choose to leave their jobs early.

She said the program is available for permanent hires, which includes workers not on time-limited appointments such as temporary appointments or those with a specified end date to their employment, and is available to both appropriated and nonappropriated fund positions.

The program has no age limitation, but workers must have worked for the Defense Department for at least 12 months before accepting a buyout. They must also be U.S. citizens, Groeber said.

Not all workers will get the $25,000 maximum payment, she said. The buyout is based upon salary and how much the employee would receive in severance pay.

"So it's calculated based upon the amount of money you are currently receiving, however it is capped out at $25,000, so you can receive no more than that," she said.

Groeber said the program's primary targets are employees who work at facilities the Defense Department expects to close, or at locations where there is a change in the military mission. She said that while the buyout will help DoD to minimize its workforce at commands and organizations that are downsizing or restructuring, it will also allow the department to offer a substantial sum of money to workers forced out of their jobs through the separation process. She said it's a way of "easing them out the door."

The deputy undersecretary added that the buyout comes at an important time, especially with the next round of base realignment and closures expected to begin in 2005, possibly resulting in the loss of thousands of government jobs.

Groeber said buyouts were very effective in the 1990s, when the government closed several bases and installations. "And we need these authorities to be able to help move our work force to the new work that they are going to be doing, or move them into retirement," she said.

http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2004/n01222004_200401229.html