Leaked memo reveals VA plan to cut up to 35,000 jobs, raising fears of longer care delays

A leaked Veterans Affairs memo reveals plans for major staffing reductions that could further strain an already overburdened health care system serving millions of veterans. Under the leadership of VA Secretary Doug Collins, the department is preparing to cut as many as 35,000 positions, many of them currently vacant, according to reporting by The Washington Post. The Veterans Health Administration has instructed managers to cancel thousands of job openings, including roles for doctors, nurses, and support staff — a move employees warn will worsen wait times and limit access to care for former service members.

The proposed cuts come on top of roughly 30,000 positions already eliminated and could shrink the VA health care workforce by about 10 percent, reducing staffing levels to as few as 372,000 employees. Union officials and frontline workers say the reductions risk pushing the system past its breaking point. “The VA has been chronically understaffed for years,” said Thomas Dargon Jr. of the American Federation of Government Employees, while Colorado VA nurse Sharda Fornarino warned staff are being asked to “do more with less.” The staffing overhaul is expected to coincide with a broader reorganization that may also reduce the VA’s regional office structure overseeing hospitals and medical centers nationwide.