Originally published Energy Department extends hiring freeze, deems 43% workforce non-‘essential’ in reorganization plan on by https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2025/04/energy-department-extends-hiring-freeze-deems-43-workforce-non-essential-in-reorganization-plan/ at Federal News Network
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A governmentwide hiring freeze expires later this month, but the Energy Department will continue to put a hold on most hiring as part of a broader agency reorganization plan.
President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day governmentwide hiring freeze on his first day in office that is scheduled to lapse on April 20. But the Energy Department is counting on a longer hiring freeze to shrink its workforce.
The department is considering several options to cut staffing, including layoffs through a reduction in force (RIF).
But first, DOE is considering RIF alternatives, such as driving up its rate of attrition, which includes employees who leave or retire from the agency.
The department, in an “Agency RIF and Reorganization Planning (ARRP) Phase 1” report it submitted last month, estimates that 43% of employees serve in non-“essential” positions.
The department has nearly 16,000 employees in total — but that figure includes staff currently on paid administrative leave. Including vacancies, DOE is authorized to have a workforce of more than 17,500 positions.
About 1,200 employees accepted the Office of Personnel Management’s “deferred resignation” offer, and DOE put more than 70 employees on leave for working on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
DOE’s workforce data excludes the 555 probationary employees it recently fired en masse. The department notes they “may be reinstated,” after federal judges ruled OPM unlawfully coordinated the firing of probationary employees across the federal government.
The department estimates just over 9,000 positions are “essential,” and are excluded from any upcoming RIFs. The department considers employees essential if they work in these offices:
- Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security and Emergency Response
- Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security
- Office of Environmental Management
- Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
- National Nuclear Security Administration
- Bonneville Power Administration
- Southeastern Power Administration
- Southwestern Power Administration
- Western Area Power Administration
The report states DOE’s essential employee count is different from its contingency plans in the event of a government shutdown. Under its most recent contingency plan, DOE said about 5,500 employees would keep working during a shutdown.
“While the core group of essential personnel required to remain during a lapse are extremely minimal, such limited capabilities are neither intended nor capable of sustaining ongoing government operations,” the report states.
The department’s inventory of essential positions excludes the independent Office of the Inspector General and the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB).
The Energy Department says it “may conduct targeted RIFs” to meet the goals of its reorganization, but it’s also pursuing other options to reduce its workforce.
Before President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, DOE lost about 7.5% of its workforce each year through attrition. But the department plans to accelerate attrition, “through actively enhanced performance and conduct policies.”
“Performance data has been submitted to OPM to aid in developing governmentwide performance metrics for evaluating the federal workforce,” the report states.
The department said it “may request” approval for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments (VSIP). About 1,640 employees are eligible for those offers.
DOE is conducting a comprehensive review of its retention incentives, “with agreements terminated or not extended where appropriate.” As part of this review, the department is also taking a closer look at incentives for its cybersecurity workforce.
The department will also cut staffing by terminating or no longer renewing term positions and reemployed annuitants.
While developing a timeline for Phase 2 of its workforce plans, the report states DOE “will continue to implement initiatives advancing employees’ return to office, instilling merit-based principles, categorizing policy positions, and optimizing collective bargaining agreements in tandem with insights gleaned from related government efficiency initiatives and ongoing Secretarial review.”
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Originally published Energy Department extends hiring freeze, deems 43% workforce non-‘essential’ in reorganization plan on by https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2025/04/energy-department-extends-hiring-freeze-deems-43-workforce-non-essential-in-reorganization-plan/ at Federal News Network
Originally published Federal News Network
