The Peace Corps is providing its personnel with a second “fork in the road” buyout, as per a source with knowledge of the situation. Allison Greene, the Peace Corps CEO, emailed staff on Monday with an update on the “department of government efficiency” (Doge) evaluation of the agency.
Greene mentioned that major restructuring efforts would occur at the Peace Corps headquarters, according to the email seen by The Guardian. Between 28th April and 6th May, direct hire and expert staff were given a second deferred resignation program, which Elon Musk’s Doge referred to as a “fork in the road” buyout. Greene called this offer “DRP 2.0”.
Eligible staff would be contacted by human resources and were strongly encouraged to consider this option, Greene stated. The offer applied to both domestic and international employees.
Despite the restructuring, Peace Corps would continue to recruit, place, and train volunteers, with the cuts only impacting agency staff.
A Peace Corps spokesperson confirmed that Doge started the cuts on Monday.
“The agency will remain operational and continue to recruit, place, and train volunteers, as well as support their health, safety, security, and effective service,” the spokesperson confirmed.
Since Donald Trump took office and appointed Musk to lead the unofficial government agency Doge, it has worked to cut budgets and fire workers in federal agencies with the objective to identify “waste, fraud and abuse”. Doge has targeted nearly two dozen agencies and fired hundreds of workers, particularly focusing on foreign aid and development agencies like the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Doge began its work at the Peace Corps headquarters in early April, according to two individuals familiar with the situation. A Doge representative, Bridget Youngs, visited the headquarters and requested access to the agency’s financial records. Doge workers have continued working in the building since then.
Peace Corps employees were instructed to cooperate with Doge and keep clear records of any data requests and what was provided. It is unclear how many jobs will be eliminated or if Doge will require more from the agency than the new round of buyouts. The Peace Corps has over 3,000 volunteers currently working in 60 countries. It was established in 1961 by John F Kennedy and has sent more than 240,000 volunteers abroad.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/28/peace-corps-doge-elon-musk
