(NewsNation) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is on track to cut nearly 30,000 positions by the end of the fiscal year, with the agency announcing Monday that it’s no longer considering department-wide layoffs.
It’s a smaller workforce cut than previous estimates, with VA Secretary Doug Collins saying in March the agency’s goal was to cut 15% of the workforce, which would have added up to a loss of 72,000 positions.
The VA lost about 17,000 positions between January and June through a government hiring freeze, retirements and a deferred resignation program.
That brought the agency’s workforce down to 467,000 at the beginning of June from 484,000 at the start of January.
The department expects to lose another 12,000 employees by September 30 through a combination of deferred resignation, voluntary early retirement and normal attrition, including regular retirements.
In a press release, the VA said there are plans in place to ensure that health care for the nation’s veterans is not impacted.
Mission-critical positions have been exempt from early retirement and deferred resignation offers, according to the VA. More than 350,000 positions are also exempt from President Donald Trump’s hiring freeze that was meant to end on July 15, but which has been extended to October 15.