Department of Veterans Affairs expects to reduce workforce by approximately 29,000 employees by the end of fiscal 2025, minimizing the necessity for mass-scale Reduction-in-Force (RIF) measures.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has revised its initial workforce reduction plan, announcing a more measured approach to cut nearly 30,000 positions by the end of the fiscal year, without mass layoffs.

Initially, the VA planned to reduce its workforce by up to 15%, which would have resulted in the loss of 72,000 to 83,000 employees. However, the revised plan aims to achieve this reduction through a combination of federal hiring freezes, deferred resignations, early retirements, and normal attrition.

As of July 7, approximately 17,000 employees have already left since January, and an additional 12,000 are expected to depart by September through these voluntary channels. This means that the VA is on track to reduce its workforce by about 30,000 by the end of the fiscal year.

VA Secretary Doug Collins emphasised that this revised approach was the result of a "holistic review" aimed at reducing bureaucracy and improving services to veterans. The department remains committed to enhancing veteran care, even without mass layoffs.

The VA's internal documents on reorganization, which were briefly available on the VA's internal SharePoint site last month, do not reflect the VA's current plans, according to VA Press Secretary Peter Kasperowicz. It's not yet clear what the VA's announcement will mean for its broader reorganization plans.

The VA had about 484,000 employees on January 1, 2025, and 467,000 employees as of June 1, 2025. The VA sought assistance from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) because it "has never undertaken such a large restructuring, and does not have the capabilities, expertise or the internal resources to fulfill the requirement."

The VA had considered shrinking the number of regional Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) from 18 to 10 between April and June. However, it's not clear yet whether this aspect of the reorganisation will still be part of the VA's plans.

The VA is providing health care and benefits to many more veterans as a result of the PACT Act. The department has paid the Office of Personnel Management over $726,000 to help oversee its reduction-in-force and reorganisation plans.

The hiring freeze, which was supposed to end on July 15, has been extended to October 15 following a presidential memorandum signed by President Donald Trump. Mission-critical positions have been exempt from the deferred resignation and early retirement offers.

More than 350,000 VA positions are exempt from the governmentwide federal hiring freeze. More than 3,000 VHA Central Office employees have already been cleared to quit their jobs and go on paid administrative leave through September under the deferred resignation program.

VA officials raised questions about how the VA's workload would be absorbed or redistributed after workforce cuts. The VA says mission-critical positions have been exempt from the deferred resignation and early retirement offers.

[1] https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2025/07/07/va-to-cut-nearly-30000-positions-by-year-end-without-mass-layoffs/ [2] https://www.federalnewsnetwork.com/federal-news-radio/2025/07/va-revised-workforce-reduction-plan-aims-to-cut-30000-positions-by-year-end-without-mass-layoffs/ [3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/07/07/va-to-cut-nearly-30000-positions-by-year-end-without-mass-layoffs/ [4] https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/07/va-to-cut-nearly-30000-positions-by-year-end-without-mass-layoffs-314708

The revised workforce reduction plan by the VA will target a reduction of nearly 30,000 positions, aiming to achieve this through strategic measures like federal hiring freezes, deferred resignations, early retirements, and normal attrition, rather than mass layoffs.
The VA's financial department is anticipating a significant shift in staffing levels, as the department is projected to reduce its workforce by approximately 30,000 employees by the end of the fiscal year, which may affect business operations.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working towards a workforce reimagined, focusing on reducing bureaucracy and improving services to veterans while maintaining a commitment to enhance veteran care, even without mass layoffs. The VA continues to seek assistance from the Office of Personnel Management to manage its extensive reorganization and reduction-in-force plans.

Department of Veterans Affairs expects to reduce workforce by approximately 29,000 employees by the end of fiscal 2025, minimizing the necessity for mass-scale Reduction-in-Force (RIF) measures.