Veterans Affairs Dept. drops plan to lay off thousands in August
The VA announced it's currently on pace to reduce its staff by about 30,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year, in September, thereby "eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force," or RIF.
The department originally planned to reduce its staff to 2019 levels, or just under 400,000, according to a memo obtained by CBS News in March. The VA said in its release that it had "roughly 484,000 employees on Jan. 1, 2025" — meaning the initial plans would have required the VA to cut upwards of 80,000 jobs.
In a statement included in the release, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins said that as a result of a "holistic" department-wide review, the VA "is headed in the right direction — both in terms of staff levels and customer service. A department-wide RIF is off the table, but that doesn't mean we're done improving VA."
The VA acknowledged in the release that the agency "had been considering a department-wide RIF to reduce staff levels by up to 15%," but said "employee reductions through the federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements and normal attrition have eliminated the need for that RIF."
A spokesperson for the VA said in a statement Monday that it spent "nearly four months conducting a holistic review of the department to see what needs to be changed." The department claimed that in recent months, the VA has improved services for veterans, citing "huge drops in the number of Veterans waiting for disability benefits, sizeable increases in claims processing productivity, and extraordinary progress regarding our electronic health record modernization."
The spokesperson said the original number of 80,000 staff cuts "got employees thinking outside of the box to come up with new and better ways of serving Veterans," and the "main goal all along has been creating the best possible experiences and outcomes" for veterans and their families.
Under the Biden administration, the VA hired tens of thousands of workers, in part to help administer the PACT Act, which addresses toxic exposures veterans suffered while serving in the military. The Trump administration initially looked at cutting staff levels to pre-Biden administration levels.
The Trump administration imposed a broader hiring freeze on many government jobs earlier this year, part of a push to cut the size of the federal workforce. The VA exempted some roles from that freeze, including many health care jobs at the agency's hospital network. The administration also offered a voluntary "deferred resignation" deal that allowed thousands of federal workers to leave their jobs in early February and get paid until September.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut took note of the reversal of the planned mass layoffs at the VA and blamed the work environment at the department.
"This announcement makes clear VA is bleeding employees across the board at an unsustainable rate because of the toxic work environment created by this Administration and DOGE's slash and trash policies," Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, said in a statement. "This is not 'natural' attrition, it is not strategic, and it will inevitably impact veterans' care and benefits — no matter what blanket assurances the VA Secretary hides behind."
Blumenthal noted the VA workforce usually expands by about 10,000 "in a typical year," and its statement that it was losing 30,000 this year means the VA "still stands to lose tens of thousands more employees than ever before." He complained that the administration "repeatedly refused to share any additional information about this plan to cut 83,000 VA employees and what positions would be targeted."
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Basilea receives USD 39 million funding under BARDA agreement to continue to advance novel antifungals fosmanogepix and BAL2062
Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Allschwil, Switzerland, July 08, 2025 Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil (SIX: BSLN), a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to meeting the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections, announced today that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, committed the next USD 39 million to Basilea to continue to advance the development of Basilea's novel antifungals fosmanogepix and BAL2062. This additional funding is based on the successful completion of a milestone within the 'Other Transaction Agreement' (OTA, agreement number 75A50124C00033) that was awarded on September 30, 2024, and which allows for potential funding of up to approximately USD 268 million in total to develop antifungal and antibacterial assets. David Veitch, Chief Executive Officer of Basilea, said: 'We are very pleased to receive the continued funding under the OTA with BARDA to support the development of our antifungal drug candidates fosmanogepix and BAL2062. Both compounds offer a novel mechanism of action and represent new therapeutic options for patients with aspergillosis, candidiasis or other life-threatening fungal infections. These infections primarily affect patients with weakened immune systems, such as cancer or transplant patients. Infections with difficult-to-treat rare molds or with resistance to current therapies are increasing. Hence, there continues to be a high medical need for new innovative antifungals.' He added: 'This second tranche of funding within the BARDA OTA will support the ongoing phase 3 study with fosmanogepix in yeast infections and the second phase 3 study, in mold infections, which is expected to start soon. It also provides funding for the preparation for the start of the phase 2 study for our antifungal BAL2062.' The USD 39 million is in addition to the initial USD 29 million BARDA committed at the signing of the OTA in September 2024. BARDA's financial contribution is about 60% of the total costs of the supported projects over the term of the OTA, which could provide a total potential non-dilutive funding of up to approximately USD 268 million, over up to 12 years, if all additional options to extend the contract are exercised by BARDA, upon successful completion of pre-defined milestones, including clinical and regulatory activities. About fosmanogepix Fosmanogepix is a clinical-stage broad-spectrum antifungal. It has a novel mechanism of action and its active moiety has shown activity against common species of Candida and Aspergillus, including multi-drug-resistant strains, such as Candida auris and Candida glabrata, as well as rare difficult-to-treat molds including Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., and some fungi from the Mucorales order.1 Fosmanogepix intravenous and oral formulations have been evaluated in clinical phase 2 studies for the treatment of patients with Candidemia, including Candida auris infections, and invasive mold infections.1 A phase 3 study evaluating fosmanogepix in the treatment of adult patients with candidemia and/or invasive candidiasis is ongoing and the initiation of a second phase 3 study, in the treatment of adult patients with invasive mold infections, is expected soon.2 Fosmanogepix has received Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a number of indications, and is designated as a Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP). About BAL2062 BAL2062 is a first-in-class antifungal, derived from a natural product, and has demonstrated fungicidal activity against clinically important molds such as Aspergillus spp., including azole-resistant strains.3 Safety and tolerability have been demonstrated in a previously completed phase 1 study with single and multiple ascending intravenous (i.v.) doses.4 The drug candidate has Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP), Orphan Drug and Fast Track designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for invasive aspergillosis. About invasive mold infections Invasive aspergillosis and invasive infections with rare molds (e.g., Fusarium spp., Scedosporium spp., and Mucorales fungi) are life-threatening infections that predominantly affect immunocompromised patients, including patients with hematologic malignancies (blood cancer), transplant patients, or patients with other immunodeficiency disorders. These infections are associated with high morbidity and mortality.5, 6 About invasive candidiasis Invasive candidiasis, including deep-seated tissue candidiasis and candidemia, is an increasingly important nosocomial infection, especially in patients hospitalized in intensive care units. Candida species are ranked as the fourth main cause of bloodstream infections in hospitals in the US.7 The prognosis of invasive candidiasis remains difficult, with a reported mortality rate for invasive candidiasis as high as 40%, even when patients receive antifungal therapy.8 About Basilea Basilea is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company founded in 2000 and headquartered in Switzerland. We are committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative drugs to meet the needs of patients with severe bacterial and fungal infections. We have successfully launched two hospital brands, Cresemba for the treatment of invasive fungal infections and Zevtera for the treatment of bacterial infections. In addition, we have preclinical and clinical anti-infective assets in our portfolio. Basilea is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Please visit Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements, such as "believe", "assume", "expect", "forecast", "project", "may", "could", "might", "will" or similar expressions concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil and its business, including with respect to the progress, timing and completion of research, development and clinical studies for product candidates. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd, Allschwil is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This project has been funded in part with federal funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR); Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), under OT number: 75A50124C00033. The contract and federal funding are not an endorsement of the study results, product, or company. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schröder, PhD Head of Corporate Communications & Investor RelationsBasilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd, Allschwil Hegenheimermattweg 167b4123 AllschwilSwitzerland Phone +41 61 606 1102 E-mail media_relations@ This ad hoc announcement can be downloaded from References K. J. Shaw, A. S. Ibrahim. Fosmanogepix: A Review of the First-in-Class Broad Spectrum Agent for the Treatment of Invasive Fungal Infections. Journal of Fungi (Basel) 2020 (6), 239 FAST study (candidemia/invasive candidiasis): identifier NCT05421858; FORWARD study (invasive mold infections): identifier NCT06925321 K. J. Shaw. GR-2397: Review of the Novel Siderophore-like Antifungal Agent for the Treatment of Invasive Aspergillosis. Journal of Fungi (Basel) 2022 (8), 909 identifier NCT02956499: M. P. Mammen, D. Armas, F. H. Hughes et al. First-in-Human Phase 1 Study To Assess Safety, Tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of a Novel Antifungal Drug, VL-2397, in Healthy Adults. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 2019 (63), e00969-19 J. Cadena, G. R. Thompson 3rd, T. F. Patterson. Aspergillosis: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America 2021 (35), 415-434 M. Slavin, S. van Hal, T. C. Sorrell et al. Invasive infections due to filamentous fungi other than Aspergillus: epidemiology and determinants of mortality. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 2015 (21), 490.e1-490.e10 Candidemia (Blood Infection) and Other Candida Infections. 2019 Factsheet by the American Thoracic Society: (Accessed: July 07, 2025) B. J. Kullberg, M. C. Arendrup. Invasive Candidiasis. The New England Journal of Medicine 2015 (373), 1445-1456 Attachment Press release (PDF)
