VA plans to dismiss as many as 83,000 employees this year

The Veteran Affairs department plans to dismiss tens of thousands of employees throughout its organization later this year, according to an internal memorandum distributed to top staff on Tuesday.

VA will soon start a departmental review of its mission, organization and structure, according to the note obtained by Head of Government. It will work in partnership with the Department of Government Efficiency to create a workforce optimization plan, VA staff manager Christopher Syrk said in the document. Acid said that VA will “move aggressively” to implement its plans that reduce management and bureaucracy, cut the department’s footprint and “increase workforce efficiency.”

The upcoming reductions in effect said Syrek will “change the size and tailor the workforce to the mission and the revised structure.”

More than one-four VA employees are veterans.

The memo follows two executive orders issued by President Trump, calling on agencies to reshape their workforce and develop RIF and reorganization plans. VA has largely exempted its workforce from the government -covering freezing and fired a relatively small part of its test staff, leaving a question of whether the department should dismiss the employees at all.

VA staffed itself significantly under the Biden administration, including a record-breaking year in the financial year 2023, when Veterans Health Administration only hired 61,000 new employees. Both using Veterans Benefit’s administration have staffed up to accommodate the flood of veterans who are recently eligible for care and benefits under the PACT Act, although employment declined in the financial year 2024.

The upcoming cuts will sweep and be no part of the department, Syrek said. He set a first measure of VA’s staffing level in the financial year 2019 or 399,000 workers. VA currently employs 482,000 employees and 459,000 full-time workers’ rest means VA plans to cut its workforce with up to 83,000 individuals.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-California, the supreme Democrat of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, said VA’s plan not only was dangerous, but a “direct betrayal of veterans.” He noted that VA had to grow its workforce to meet new demands.

“Gutting vas staff to law levels before the pact will destroy the system itself, which millions of veterans are dependent on, and refuses them access to life -saving health care, requirements for treatment and educational benefits they have earned,” Takano said.

VA holds an “information collection” meeting on its reorganization and RIF efforts next week and will per. Trump management guidance provides full plans to Office of Personal Management and Office of Management and Budget before April 14.

The department will review the plans from individual components in May and release its reorganization plan in June. VA will stand up an implementation team-ial organization implementation cell-created by human resources and operations, security and emergency personnel, although most administrations and offices will have high-level staff.

“VA connections to DOGE will be integrated into VA RIC operations that ensure positive and continuous communication with the administration through all phases of the operation,” Syrek said.

VA Secretary Doug Collins is chairman of an initial meeting Wednesday to take the lead in reorganization and reduction of the workforce. He or a design will lead the department’s executive audit group as the plans move on.

The Trump administration has been subjected to significant pushback from democratic lawmakers and veteran service organizations over its admission of both VA and veterans across the government in its recent firing efforts. Alina Habba, an adviser in the White House, came under fire Tuesday after she said the administration will care for veterans “in the right way, but maybe they are not suitable for having a job at this moment.”

If VA is also looking to reduce its footprint, it is likely to run into considerable resistance. The Biden -Administration made a plan in 2022 that would have closed or consolidated more than 200 VA facilities, but a top -art group of legislators spiked the effort.

Takano said that VAS’s reorganization and workforce plans will “create chaos across all aspects of VA,” including delaying benefits, striking demands for demands and making it almost impossible for students veterans to get the help they need. He promised that he and his colleagues will fight back on the proposals.

“The American people and Congress will not stand while VA is hollowed out, which lets the veterans suffer the consequences,” Takano said.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Takano’s counterpart in the Senate, said the plan indicated that the Trump administration was planning to push for more privatized care of veterans and would risk rolling back the progress made under the PACT Act.

“It’s a shameful betrayal, and veterans pay the price for their unforgivable corruption, incompetence and immoral.” Said Blumenthal.