The EPA is giving employees a second chance to accept offers of deferred resignation or retirement, people familiar with the matter. In the Southeast, 1,000 employees have already left the agency since the beginning of the year.
EPA employees have until May 9 to decide whether to stay.
Employees who elect to retire early can receive administrative leave through the end of the year. Those who choose deferred resignation may receive their salaries until the end of August.
The offers targeted four offices in the EPA, that focus on grant management, inspections and enforcement actions.
Nonprofits, universities and other groups that rely on EPA funds will likely experience the most change.
About 14,000 EPA employees remain in the Southeast, many concentrated around the Triangle. The EPA is the 19th-largest employer in Durham County, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce.
