FDIC Orders Employees to Return to Office as Workforce Shrinks

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. ordered all of its employees to return to the office by the end of March with only a few exceptions, as the banking regulator moves to slash its workforce.

All FDIC employees will have to report to the agency’s Washington headquarters or a regional or field office to work full-time beginning March 31, according to a Wednesday all-staff email from Daniel H. Bendler, the agency’s deputy to the chairman and chief operating officer, obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Any FDIC employee who is working remotely will be required to report to an agency office within a 50-mile radius of their homes.

The return-to-office mandate comes amid plans to downsize the agency.

Around 500 FDIC employees this month accepted the Trump administration’s “fork in the road” deferred buyout offer and the agency fired around 170 probationary employees.

The agency is also expected to cut its workforce further as part of the Trump administration’s reduction-in-force plan.

The FDIC had approximately 6,200 employees in March 2024, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

FDIC acting Chairman Travis Hill told employees the agency “will be smaller” at a Feb. 14 all-hands town hall meeting.

Other federal regulators are also ordering their staff to return to office, following orders from the Trump administration. The SEC instructed its staff to return full-time starting April 14, although the agency’s union said it will fight the mandate.

Office Space

There are concerns about space in many FDIC offices, according to the return-to-office email. If there isn’t enough space, the FDIC will find accommodations for employees without a work station, Bendler said.

The FDIC’s Dallas and Atlanta offices are undergoing expansions that should be completed by May, Bendler’s email said.

FDIC examiners will have to report to an office when not on-site at a bank, the email said.

Employees who live farther than 50 miles from an FDIC office and others with approved reasonable accommodations requests will be exempt from the return-to-office requirement, the email said.