USDA Reorganization Plan

On July 24, the USDA announced a reorganization plan that includes the relocation of more than 2,000 employees from the National Capital Region to regional hubs in major cities.

- Mariah Squire and Agri-Pulse.

In a memorandum detailing the plan, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said it aims “to achieve improved effectiveness and accountability, enhanced services, reduced bureaucracy, and cost savings for the American people.”

The plan will be guided by four key pillars, according to the memorandum:

1. Ensure that the USDA’s workforce size aligns with financial resources and priorities.

2. Bring the USDA closer to its customers by relocating resources.

3. Eliminate management layers and bureaucracy.

4. Consolidate support functions.

“Over the last four years, [the] USDA’s workforce grew by 8%, and employees’ salaries increased by 14.5% — including hiring thousands of employees with no sustainable way to pay them. This all occurred without any tangible increase in service to [the] USDA’s core constituencies across the agricultural sector,” the USDA said in a news release announcing the memorandum.

The USDA has fully leveraged voluntary programs to reduce its workforce and is committed to continuing this approach, the memorandum said. The programs include the Deferred Resignation Program, Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments.

As of July 24, more than 15,000 individuals had voluntarily elected deferred resignation.

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