Interior increases targets for layoffs

E&E News

2 days ago

The Interior Department is expanding its targets for layoffs to include more than 1,400 'competitive areas' — an increase of hundreds of categories since its first notice this spring — including new units within the Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and Office of the Secretary, according to an internal document.
The newly released list of offices or units that could face layoffs was obtained by the National Parks Conservation Association and shared with POLITICO's E&E News.
The Interior Department declined to comment Friday afternoon.
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'We do not have additional updates to provide at this time,' said Interior Department spokesperson Aubrie Spady, in response to questions.
The agency notified employees of the updates in an internal newsletter, the 'OneInterior All Employee Digest,' on Tuesday.
'The Department continues to follow guidance from the Office of Personnel Management on workforce efficiency requirements. Please reach out to your Servicing Human Resources Office with any questions,' the notice states, sandwiched between notifications about a new email signature available for the nation's sesquicentennial and the 'Plain Language Tip of the Week.'
The notification marks the second time in recent months that Interior has issued a list of competitive areas to its employees as it prepares to pursue staff reductions, continuing efforts initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to hollow out executive branch agencies.
The notifications identify units where federal employees could face dismissals — called 'reductions in force' or RIFs — classifying those in similar job duties and locations into competitive groups, and basing cuts on details like performance evaluations and tenure.
New additions to Interior's list include Bureau of Reclamation offices — where the number of targeted units has doubled since the first notice, to more than 180 — for the Upper and Lower Colorado River Basin, Great Plains, Mid-Pacific and Pacific Northwest regions.
The Fish and Wildlife Service faces potential cuts to jobs in national wildlife refuges across the nation and to posts focused on ecological services and fish and aquatic conservation.
There are also dozens of categories across the Office of the Secretary not included in a previous list.
According to the Office of Personnel Management, the 'competitive area' notifications also start a 90-day countdown before a RIF can take effect, although agencies can seek a waiver for a shorter notice period.
In addition, federal employees must receive at least a 60-day notice before a RIF action can be executed, although that period can also be reduced to 30 days with OPM's approval.
It was not immediately clear whether Interior intends to restart the notification period for the jobs listed in its most recent target list.
Interior notified employees in April that their jobs would be considered competitive areas — including various Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Bureau of Land Management offices — with a RIF expected to be announced in mid-May.
But that effort hit a wall when a federal judge in California issued a sweeping injunction on the federal reorganization. The Supreme Court lifted that injunction earlier this month, freeing agencies to restart the process.
Michael Fallings, managing partner at the law firm Tully Rinckey, said Interior would have to restart the notification clock based on its most recent announcement to employees, even those whose jobs were included in a previous competitive areas list.
'It does start a new clock, but for some agencies, they haven't viewed it that way,' Fallings said, pointing to disputes at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Employees who believe they are being classified in the wrong way can challenge their inclusion in a group via the Merit System Protection Board, an independent, quasi-judicial executive branch agency.
There is no standard for how employees receive a notice of 'competitive areas' — although 'a newsletter does seem odd,' Fallings noted — but employees targeted for RIFs must receive a physical letter in addition to any other communication, such as an email.
'The key notice that needs to go out is that they're being subject to a RIF,' Fallings said.
Interior has already shed at least 11 percent of its workforce during the Trump administration, as nearly 7,500 employees took buyout or early retirement offers between January and June.
That includes 1,180 of the 5,700 employees Reclamation had previously reported to OPM in September 2024.
Reclamation spokesperson Peter Soeth declined to comment on the newest competitive areas list.
'The Bureau of Reclamation remains focused on providing essential water and hydropower to the American public across the 17 Western states,' Soeth said. 'While we do not comment on personnel matters, we are committed to enhancing workforce management and are collaborating closely with the Office of Personnel Management to embrace new opportunities for optimization and innovation.'
Reporter Robin Bravender contributed.