By Chris Prentice

NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will offer supervisors incentives to leave the agency or to take demotions, according to memos seen by Reuters, the latest in a series of voluntary programs reshaping the agency.

The SEC has decided to provide “supervisor-graded employees with voluntary options” following an agencywide review, the SEC’s chief operating officer said in a Sept. 2 email to staff.

The agency’s latest round of buyout programs follows similar efforts earlier this year that led to an exodus of hundreds of staff, according to agency data obtained through a public records request.

One of the voluntary programs includes a one-time lump sum payment of $50,000 according to a second memo sent on Sept. 2 and seen by Reuters. The SEC is also offering supervisors voluntary demotions in an effort to reallocate staff, according to the email.

The SEC’s belt-tightening has come amid a broader push by the administration of Republican President Donald Trump to remake the federal bureaucracy by slashing jobs.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice)