The U.S. Department of Education is offering an incentive of up to $25,000 to the majority of its staff to resign or retire by Monday evening ahead of rumored work force reductions.

In a department-wide email obtained and first reported by Politico, Education Department employees were offered the one-time buyout and given an 11:59 p.m. deadline on Monday to accept or decline the deal.

“We can confirm that the Education Department emailed its staff today, offering employees up to a $25,000 Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) starting today,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education shared in a statement with Fox News Digital. 

“This is a one-time offer in advance of a very significant Reduction in Force for the US Department of Education,” Jacqueline Clay, a chief human capital officer, said in the email.

President Trump vowed on the campaign trail to eliminate the Department of Education and bring the power back to the states. (Getty Images)

Back in February, the department confirmed that it canceled nearly $350 million in “woke” spending, purportedly addressing the most pressing problems of education policy and practice.

The agency canceled 10 contracts with Regional Educational Laboratories (REL), totaling $336 million, after a review of the contracts uncovered “wasteful and ideologically driven spending not in the interest of students and taxpayers,” a news release states.

It’s not clear if the cuts were related to the Department of Government Efficiency slashing the Education Department’s activities related to DEI. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.