By The Blog Source

More than 1,400 probationary employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are being let go from "non-mission important roles," the agency announced in a news release on Monday. "Those fired today are probationary bargaining unit employees who have served less than two years in an expected service appointment or less than a year in a competitive service appointment," the VA stated. The VA said the cuts will save more than $83 million a year.

The VA stated it will be able to "redirect all of those resources back toward health care, benefits, and services for VA beneficiaries" because of the financial savings. "The first Senior Executive Service (SES) or SES-equivalent leader in a terminated employee’s chain of command can request that the employee be excused from removal as an extra safeguard to guarantee VA benefits and services are not impacted," the VA stated.

According to the organization, "among other duties," non-mission critical positions were those that dealt with diversity, inclusion, and equity. Additionally, it asserted that their terminations will save the VA over $83 million annually, which will then be reinvested in veteran health care, benefits, and programs.

This current round of cuts follows VA's prior announcement earlier this month that it would be laying off over 1,000 employees.

In particular, the decisions to fire some personnel "would not impact VA health care, services, or beneficiaries," according to VA Secretary Doug Collins, who also mentioned that veterans will "see a change for the better."

"VA plans to use these resources to help the department fulfill its primary mission: providing the greatest possible care and benefits to veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors," Collins stated in the upcoming weeks and months.

The recent terminations, which coincide with severe VA personnel shortages and heightened demand for VA services, were referred to as "illegal terminations" by Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee.

On Monday, VA announced that there were still around 40,000 probationary staff members in the department, most of whom were spared from terminations due to their work in mission-critical roles, namely those that support VA beneficiaries' benefits and services.

Under the leadership of Trump adviser Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency has spearheaded a significant reduction in staff across several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the VA, the Education Department, the Energy Department, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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