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From The Hill: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is planning to cut 80,000 jobs as part of an “aggressive” reorganization of the agency this summer, according to The Associated Press, which cited an internal memo it obtained.
The memo, sent by VA chief of staff Christopher Syrek, says the agency-wide reorganization will take place this August and instructs top-level officials to prepare to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.”
Syrek also said in the memo that agency officials should work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration’s goals, the AP reported.
Syrek said the agency plans to cut enough employs to return to 2019 levels of staffing, which was just under 400,000 positions. Doing so would require cutting tens of thousands of jobs at the VA that were created under the Biden administration, including through the 2022 PACT Act, which expanded coverage to veterans affected by burn pits.
VA Secretary Doug Collins announced in a video statement Wednesday that the VA will be increasing efficiency and improving healthcare, benefits and services to veterans.
He promised that the changes and staff reductions will be made without compromising healthcare or services.
“The VA does not exist to employ people, it exists to serve people,” Collins said.
WATCH BELOW:
The days of kicking the can down the road are over. We owe America’s Veterans solutions! pic.twitter.com/KDHMefOWOH
— VA Secretary Doug Collins (@SecVetAffairs) March 5, 2025
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