Department of Veterans Affairs lays off 1,400 employees

The Department of Veterans Affairs (V.A.) announced the layoff of 1,400 employees. The move will generate savings of more than $83 million, it said, which will be directed to the agency's "health care, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries."

Through a statement published Monday, the V.A. reported the layoffs, which come in addition to the 1,000 announced by the department two weeks ago.

"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," V.A. Secretary Doug Collins said.

"These moves will not hurt VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. In fact, Veterans are going to notice a change for the better. 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," he added.

Those affected are employees who were filling "non-mission critical" positions. For example, workers with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policy-related positions have been laid off, as the department noted in its statement.

So have others 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."

The move drew criticism from Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who is a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee and said Collins is putting veterans' interests "last" with these layoffs.

"Doug Collins continues to put the interests of veterans last with additional indiscriminate firings of VA employees. 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," Blumenthal wrote in a statement.

In doing so, the V.A. is keeping in line with the Trump administration's stated goal of making all federal agencies "more efficient and effective."