By Natasha Bertrand

(CNN) — The Trump administration is planning to cut tens of thousands of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to an internal memo obtained by CNN.

In a memo dated March 4 addressed to “under secretaries, assistant secretaries, and other key officials,” the Veterans Affairs department’s chief of staff Christopher Syrek said that the VA in partnership with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, will move “aggressively” to restructure the VA across the entire department and “resize” the workforce.

As part of that, the department will aim to revert back to its 2019-era staffing levels of 399,957 employees, the memo said. That means more than 70,000 employees could be terminated as part of the restructuring, since the VA employed over 470,000 people as of October 2024, according to the department.

The memo, which was first reported by Government Executive, says administration and staff offices within the VA will need to conduct information gathering and report back to the Office of Personnel Management by April 14.

The VA grew significantly under the Biden administration, particularly to help implement the PACT Act that Biden signed into law in 2022 to help expand coverage and eligibility to millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins and hazards like burn pits while serving.

The national president of the American Federation of Government Employees issued a warning Wednesday about the risks of the planned cuts at the VA.

“Until Elon Musk and Donald Trump came on the scene, America never turned its back on our veterans and their families,” Everett Kelley said in a statement. “Their reckless plan to wipe out the VA’s ability to deliver on America’s promise to veterans will backfire on millions of veterans and their families who risked their lives in service for our country.”

The Trump administration has already terminated 2,400 employees at the VA, according to a Tuesday letter addressed to the VA Secretary from two Maine lawmakers, independent Sen. Angus King and Democratic Rep. Jared Golden. The letter expressed “utmost concern” about the lack of a stated reason for the firings and the number of veterans who have been fired.

“We expect the Trump Administration and the DOGE to uphold its commitment and continue to prioritize the health and well-being of our veterans,” the two wrote.

The VA’s plans to further cut its workforce come as other federal agencies have fired scores of employees at the direction of OPM, which was until yesterday advising agencies including the Defense Department to fire probationary workers.

On Tuesday, OPM revised that guidance to say that terminations were now at the discretion of the agencies. But the Pentagon said last month that it plans to ultimately fire five to eight percent of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees, starting with an initial tranche of 5,400 probationary workers who don’t have “mission-critical” roles.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Rene Marsh and Oren Liebermann contributed to this report.

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