US Veterans Affairs Announces Plan to Lay Off 84,000 Employees: Memo Reveals

March 6, 2025 TruthUSA

The chief of staff of the VA indicates that the agency aims to revert to staffing levels similar to those in 2019, which is just below 400,000 employees.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is set to lay off over 80,000 employees, as stated in a recent memorandum.

The memorandum, written by VA Chief of Staff Christopher Syrek and obtained by Reuters, was addressed to senior officials on March 4.

According to Syrek, the agency’s objective is to achieve staffing levels from 2019—or approximately 400,000 employees—implying a reduction of around 84,000 positions.

The VA did not reply to a request for comment.

The memo instructed agency personnel to collaborate with Trump advisor Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to implement these reductions. The VA had a reported headcount of 486,522 recently, as per the department.

Under the direction of President Donald Trump, Musk, along with the department and the Office of Personnel Management, has been actively identifying and terminating employees who are considered non-essential.

Since Trump took office, tens of thousands of government employees have been dismissed, alongside approximately 75,000 who opted for buyouts via the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program.

In mid-February, the VA announced that it had let go more than 1,000 employees, which included individuals still on probationary status due to holding their positions for less than a year. Just two weeks later, the agency reported an additional termination of over 1,400 employees categorized as being in “non-mission critical positions.”

VA Secretary Doug Collins, a former congressman from Georgia, acknowledged that the decisions regarding personnel were challenging.

“However, the VA is dedicated to properly allocating its resources to support as many Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors as possible,” he stated in February, emphasizing that these changes would not negatively impact the healthcare or benefits offered by the VA.

“Ultimately, Veterans should expect to see improvements. In the upcoming weeks and months, the VA plans to unveil strategies aimed at utilizing these resources effectively to fulfill its core mission: delivering the highest quality care and benefits to Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), the leading Democrat on the Senate committee managing veteran affairs, expressed in a statement that the cuts signify “an all-out assault … on the VA workforce and the veterans it serves.”

He argued that the forthcoming layoffs seem to signal a move toward privatizing VA services.

“This is a disgraceful betrayal, and veterans will suffer as a result of their outrageous corruption, incompetence, and immorality,” Blumenthal stated.

Some of these reductions might face legal challenges or scrutiny from the Office of Special Counsel. The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board reacted to the office’s response by ordering the Trump administration to reinstate nearly 6,000 workers who had been on probationary status at the time of their termination from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source link