SEC reportedly offering $50K incentive for eligible staff to resign

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly offering eligible employees financial incentives to resign or retire from the agency amid an ongoing wave of staffing changes from the regulator. 

The US securities regulator is reportedly offering staff $50,000 to resign or retire by April 4, according to a March 4 Bloomberg report citing an email it reviewed.

The email, which described the offer as a “voluntary separation incentive” or “voluntary early retirement program,” was reportedly sent on Feb. 28 by SEC chief operating officer Ken Johnson to all employees.

The deadline to apply for the incentive is March 21, and eligible employees must have been on the agency’s payroll before Jan. 24. They must also voluntarily leave through resignation, transfer to another agency, or retire. They can not return to the SEC within five years. If they do so, they must pay back the incentive in full, the memo states.

The moves come as the Trump administration seeks to slash federal government staff under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk.

The department has removed more than 100,000 of the federal government’s 2.3 million workers through a combination of layoffs and buyouts, reported Reuters. 

Cointelegraph reached out to the SEC for comment but did not receive an immediate reply. 

In early February, it was reported that the SEC was starting to scale back its 50-staff crypto enforcement unit. At the same time, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce outlined the agency’s new approach to regulating the crypto markets, including evaluating the security status of crypto assets. 

Related: SEC drops lawsuit against Kraken, ending ‘politically motivated campaign’

The US labor market is in the spotlight this week with key reports on nonfarm employment data, initial jobless claims data and the February Jobs Report due. These reports are considered important economic indicators, as the shift in the number of positions is strongly associated with the overall health of the economy. 

Meanwhile, the SEC has dismissed legal action against a number of prominent crypto companies in recent weeks, including Coinbase, Consensys, Robinhood, Gemini, Uniswap and most recently, Kraken. 

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