The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Monday afternoon that it is on track to reduce its workforce by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2025, eliminating the need for the agency’s previously planned mass layoffs.
The VA announced in March that it planned to cut roughly 72,000 employees – or 15 percent of its workforce – in response to President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 executive order, which called for large-scale reductions in force (RIFs).
However, in its July 7 announcement, the agency said that employee reductions through the Federal hiring freeze, deferred resignations, retirements, and normal attrition “have eliminated the need for that RIF.”
“Since March, we’ve been conducting a holistic review of the department centered on reducing bureaucracy and improving services to veterans,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins. “As a result of our efforts, VA is headed in the right direction – both in terms of staff levels and customer service.”
“A department-wide RIF is off the table, but that doesn’t mean we’re done improving VA,” Collins said. “Our review has resulted in a host of new ideas for better serving veterans that we will continue to pursue.”
According to the VA, it had roughly 484,000 employees on Jan. 1, 2025, and 467,000 employees as of June 1, 2025 – a reduction of nearly 17,000.
Between now and Sept. 30, the agency said it expects nearly 12,000 additional VA employees to exit through normal attrition, voluntary early retirement authority, or the deferred resignation program.
The deferred resignation program allows Federal employees to resign but be paid through Sept. 30, when their resignation becomes effective.
The VA said that these staff reductions will not impact veteran care or benefits. The agency said that all VA mission-critical positions are exempt from the deferred resignation program and the voluntary early retirement authority, and 350,000 positions are exempt from the Federal hiring freeze.
Following the VA’s announcement, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National President Everett Kelley issued a statement celebrating the agency’s decision to abolish its RIF plan.
“This is a major victory for Federal workers, for veterans, and for the American people. We pushed back because we knew the ability of veterans to get the care and benefits they’ve earned was at stake,” Kelley said in a statement.
“But let’s be clear: we’re not out of the woods yet. While the VA has walked back the worst of its proposed cuts, the agency has still reduced staffing by nearly 17,000 positions so far this year and plans to eliminate thousands more through September,” he added. “We will be watching closely to ensure the department follows the law and honors our union contracts. We’ll also be paying close attention to the impact these smaller cuts may still have on care delivery for our veterans.”
Kelley also urged other Federal agencies “to follow Secretary Collins’ lead and abandon these misguided plans.”