The Interior Department has said the administration’s budget proposal would support employment there of just under 60,000, about a 4,000-position reduction from current levels.
“To accomplish this, the department will rely on a combination of attrition and separation incentives,” an explanation from the department says. “Actual attrition rates and acceptance of separation incentives will determine the need for further action to reduce staffing”–in other words, RIFs.
The summary adds that apart from the budget–which must go through a congressional process that commonly produces outcomes far different than the original proposals–Interior is conducting a broader review of its operations under the White House’s government-wide order. As a first step, it notes, it is continuing hiring restrictions, especially in headquarters functions.
Other management initiatives, it said, include reducing the physical footprint of facilities nationwide; consolidating employees in leased space around the Washington, D.C. area into headquarters; coordination among components for common services; continued attention to addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities; and eliminating legacy financial and management systems that were made obsolete by implementation of a department-wide system.
