{"id":89312,"date":"2025-07-24T18:37:10","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T18:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/89312\/"},"modified":"2025-07-24T18:37:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T18:37:10","slug":"usda-to-relocate-more-than-half-of-d-c-area-employees-under-reorganization-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/89312\/","title":{"rendered":"USDA to relocate more than half of D.C. area employees under reorganization plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

USDA to relocate more than half of D.C. area employees under reorganization plan<\/p>\n

USDA said the reorganization plan will bring employees closer to the communities they serve, and will reduce a headcount that grew over the last four years. <\/p>\n

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Jory Heckman<\/a>@jheckmanWFED<\/a><\/p>\n

\n July 24, 2025 11:10 am <\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

The Agriculture Department is planning to relocate more than half of its Washington, D.C., workforce to regional hubs across the country, as part of agency reorganization plans released Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The USDA is also letting over 15,000 employees leave the agency later this year, after they accepted deferred resignation and early retirement offers. <\/p>\n

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the agency is\u00a0\u201cnot conducting a large-scale workforce reduction\u201d of nonvoluntary layoffs. However, she told employees that the department \u201cwill also be reducing some regional office management layers and consolidating duplicate functions.\u201d<\/p>\n

USDA says the reorganization plan is meant to bring employees closer to the communities they serve, and will reduce costs for a workforce that grew by thousands of employees under the Biden administration, \u201cwith no sustainable way to pay them.\u201d The department, in a press release, said the USDA workforce grew by 8% over the past four years, and that employees\u2019 salaries increased by 14.5%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cPresident Trump promised to realign federal spending, eliminate duplication and redundancy, and ensure all agencies are efficiently and effectively delivering services to our constituents,\u201d Rollins told employees in a video message on Thursday. \u201cWe are doing just that by moving our key offices\u2019 services outside Washington D.C. to ensure that USDA is located closer to the people we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

USDA, as part of its reorganization plans, will relocate thousands of D.C.-based employees to five hubs across the country, with lower locality pay rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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  1. Raleigh, North Carolina (22.24%)<\/li>\n
  2. Kansas City, Missouri (18.97%)<\/li>\n
  3. Indianapolis, Indiana (18.15%)<\/li>\n
  4. Fort Collins, Colorado (30.52%)<\/li>\n
  5. Salt Lake City, Utah (17.06%)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A USDA employee told Federal News Network that career staff were not aware of the reorganization announcement until about 20 minutes before the press release went out to the public.<\/p>\n

    Rollins told employees in her video message that the reorganization \u201cperhaps creates some personal disruption for you and your families,\u201d but said USDA will \u201cmake sure this transition over the coming months is as smooth and as minimally disruptive as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \u201cWe recognize each employee has unique circumstances to consider and any decisions you pursue are personal and yours alone,\u201d Rollins said. \u201cBut we stand ready to serve you, to help you through this process, and I sincerely hope you will consider staying part of our USDA team as we move into this exciting next chapter of this storied department.\u201d<\/p>\n

    About 90% of USDA employees already work outside of the D.C. area.\u00a0The department said it will carry out the relocation in phases. About 4,600 USDA employees currently work in the national capital region. USDA said it will \u201cstill hold functions for every mission area\u201d in D.C., but no more than 2,000 employees will remain in the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    The D.C. metro area has one of the highest costs of living in the country, with a federal salary locality rate of 33.94%\u00a0<\/p>\n

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    \u201cIn selecting its hub locations, USDA considered where existing concentrations of USDA employees are located and factored in the cost of living,\u201d the agency wrote.<\/p>\n

    The department also plans to vacate some of its underutilized buildings and return them to the General Services Administration.<\/p>\n

    USDA said all critical functions will continue \u201cuninterrupted.\u201d The department said it has exceeded its hiring goals for federal firefighters and has exempted firefighting and public safety positions from a governmentwide hiring freeze that\u2019s been extended to Oct. 15.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \u201cThese 52 position classifications carry out functions that are critical to the safety and security of the American people, our national forests, and the inspection and safety of the Nation\u2019s agriculture and food supply system,\u201d USDA wrote.<\/p>\n

    USDA said these positions will not be eliminated, but these \u201cemployees may be subject to relocation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

    This is a developing story and will be updated<\/p>\n

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