Veterans Affairs on Track to Cut 30,000 Staff by September, Drops Plan for Mass Layoff

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will shed 30,000 employees by the end of September through attrition, the agency said on Monday, reversing course from earlier plans to cut more than twice that number with involuntary layoffs. The VA said it is on track to meet its revised workforce reduction goal by the end of the current fiscal year, thereby “eliminating the need for a large-scale reduction-in-force (RIF).” The department has already shed 17,000 employees since January, and plans to cut another 12,000 through a combination of hiring freezes and voluntary separation incentives, including early retirement offers and “deferred resignations,” which allow employees to remain on paid leave for several months before officially exiting the agency....