Musk tried a similar scheme after his takeover of Twitter. What could go wrong with applying it to millions of federal workers?

President Donald Trump at a press conference on Wednesday said he is going to require federal employees who work at home to show up to work or be terminated. The president also addressed his proposal to offer payouts to government employees to quit their jobs.

President Donald Trump says the government will offer buyouts to federal workers as part of his effort to shrink the government's workforce.

The Trump administration offered federal workers the chance to take a "deferred resignation" with a severance package of roughly eight months of pay and benefits.

US President Donald Trump has offered federal workers the option to resign and receive pay for eight months, in a major effort to shrink and reform the US government. In an email, his administration has asked almost all government employees to decide by 6 February whether they want to be part of a "deferred resignation" programme that will mean them leaving their jobs no later than the end of September.

President Donald Trump is offering incentives to resign to nearly all federal workers in an attempt to reduce the size of the government. The administration expects 5% to 10% of the federal workforce to accept the offer,