Veterans Affairs Dept. Scales Back Plans for Vast Job Cuts
The department effectively abandoned its previous plan to fire tens of thousands of workers as part of President Trump's wide-reaching plan to slash the federal bureaucracy.
The new target, outlined in a department news release, would slash a work force that numbered 484,000 earlier this year to about 455,000. Nearly 17,000 employees have already left.
Instead of firing workers, the rest of the cuts would be made by offering early retirement or severance payments, along with what the department described as 'normal attrition' — the small percentage of employees who quit or move to other jobs every year.
'A departmentwide R.I.F. is off the table,' said Doug Collins, the veterans affairs secretary, referring to a reduction in force, the formal process to initiate mass layoffs in the agency. 'As a result of our efforts, V.A. is headed in the right direction — both in terms of staff levels and customer service,' he said.
The department, which provides health care for military veterans, had previously insisted that job cuts would not affect services, and said again on Monday that it had 'multiple safeguards in place' to prevent disruptions.
A law signed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had significantly expanded the veterans benefits system and set off a record-breaking hiring spree at the department. The department said on Monday that it had continued to cut a backlog of benefits claims after a spike during the Biden administration.
In addition to its primary mission of providing care to veterans and serving as the nation's backup health care system, the department also oversees some medical research and manages veterans benefits programs — like pensions, banking, home loans, insurance, job training and funding for college degrees.
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