The Interior Department is giving employees a third opportunity to accept voluntary incentives to leave their jobs or retire early, ahead of a long-awaited department reorganization.<\/p>\n
The department, in a press release on Thursday, said it will offer employees another opportunity to enroll in the deferred resignation program, or accept voluntary early retirement.<\/p>\n
The department is looking to shrink its headcount ahead of a \u201cstrategic initiative to improve resource management and the delivery of critical resources nationwide,\u201d according to an email obtained by Federal News Network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe initiative aims to strengthen Interior\u2019s mission of stewardship and service, optimizing operations streamlining outdated bureaucracy and ensuring meaningful economic benefits for taxpayers and communities across the country,\u201d the department wrote.<\/p>\n
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An Interior Department employee, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the announcement \u201ccame as a total surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to lose a lot more people,\u201d another Interior employee told Federal News Network.<\/p>\n
The Interior Department has been preparing for an agency reorganization for much of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n
Last October, the Interior Department told a federal court<\/a> in San Francisco that it planned to eliminate more than 2,000 positions across its headquarters, agencies and bureaus throughout the country. Department officials told the court that the reduction in force was not related to the 43-day government shutdown, but happened to coincide with it.<\/p>\n The court, and later Congress \u2014 as part of a stopgap spending bill to end the shutdown \u2014 prevented Interior and several other agencies from sending out those RIF notices. However, those layoff protections from Congress expired in mid-February. <\/a>So far, no agency has followed through on sending out those RIF notices.<\/p>\n The Interior Department said its initiative will include aligning more National Park Service employees into \u201cvisitor-facing\u201d positions, \u201celiminating redundant layers\u201d from the permitting process, and \u201creducing administrative burdens and improving internal operations.\u201d<\/p>\n The department told employees that after evaluating core functions and improving coordination across Interior\u2019s 13 bureaus and offices, it will \u201caccelerate decision-making and enhance accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n \u201cEffective stewardship requires disciplined management of the resources entrusted to us.\u201d Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. \u201cBy modernizing our operations we\u2019re strengthening our ability to carry out Interior\u2019s mission and deliver world-class service for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n In recent months, the Interior Department has incrementally proceeded with its reorganization plans.<\/p>\n Interior Department employees working in IT received reassignment notices in their email on March 20. Deputy Chief Information Officer Rick Kryger told employees in a recent message that these reassignment emails \u201cwill describe any changes to your position associated with the department\u2019s unification efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEach employee will receive an email with a customized attachment that is specific to your position,\u201d Kryger wrote.<\/p>\n As Federal News Network previously reported<\/a>, this consolidation will bring IT employees into the Office of the Secretary, and they will no longer address bureau-specific tech problems at the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service and other components.<\/p>\n An Interior spokesperson said in a statement that, \u201cWe are modernizing the Department to improve efficiency, coordination, and the quality of information we deliver to the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n In February, the Interior Department blazed ahead with a reorganization plan<\/a> to consolidate its wildland firefighting operations. Those plans, however, stop short of merging with wildland fire personnel or programs at the Agriculture Department\u2019s Forest Service. An internal memo said the newly created Wildland Fire Service \u201cwill unify wildland fire management within DOI only.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe success of these efforts will rely on ongoing support from Congress to secure the necessary funding and authorities needed to implement and sustain these important reforms,\u201d the memo stated.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump signed an\u00a0executive order last summer<\/a> requiring the Interior Department and USDA to consolidate their wildland fire programs \u201cto the maximum degree practicable and consistent with applicable law.\u201d The Trump administration\u2019s\u00a0fiscal 2026 budget request<\/a>\u00a0noted that wildland fire response has been split\u00a0across five agencies in two departments.<\/p>\n ]]><\/p>\n A comprehensive spending deal to\u00a0fund the Interior Department through the end of fiscal 2026<\/a>\u00a0did not endorse the Trump administration\u2019s plans to consolidate federal wildland firefighting operations into a single agency.<\/p>\n