The Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Monday the dismissal of more than 1,400 employees in what they classified as non-mission critical positions in its second round of layoffs this month.
According to a release announcing the terminations, the employees dismissed on Feb. 17 are bargaining-unit probationary employees who have served less than a year in a competitive service appointment or who have served less than two years in an excepted service appointment.
“These and other recent personnel decisions are extraordinarily difficult, but VA is focused on allocating its resources to help as many veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors as possible,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins.
VA positions considered mission critical include Veterans Crisis Line responders, among other roles. Positions the VA is considering to be non-mission critical include anything termed a DEI-related position, among other roles.
On Feb. 13, VA announced that 1,000 employees were being dismissed. VA said the personnel moves will save it more than $83 million per year, which it will redirect back toward health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.
Collins stressed the moves will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries.
“In fact, veterans are going to notice a change for the better,” he said. “In the coming weeks and months, VA will be announcing plans to put these resources to work helping the department fulfill its core mission: providing the best possible care and benefits to veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.”
VA also said it continues to hire for more than 300,000 mission-critical positions that are exempt from the current federal hiring freeze.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, blasted the latest round of firings.
“We know these terminations are already impairing the Department’s ability to deliver timely and quality care and benefits to veterans, especially as it works to serve more veterans than ever before,” he said.
Blumenthal said the “actions are destroying the trust veterans have in VA and will do long-term damage to VA’s ability to recruit and retain talented doctors, nurses and others wanting to pursue a career serving veterans.”
Blumenthal was one of 35 Democratic senators who called on Collins to reinstate the 1,000 VA employees dismissed on Feb. 13. During a call with reporters on Feb. 18, Blumenthal and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) said openings for new VA clinics have been delayed because VA can not hire the necessary staff to open them. They also said that service lines at VA hospitals and clinics have been halted and that Veteran Crisis Line employees and suicide prevention training sessions have been postponed or canceled.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.