Agency says it is on pace to reduce its total staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of this fiscal year through retirements, attrition and deferred resignations after previously saying it would need to cull 83,

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will make two-thirds fewer employee cuts this fiscal year than it first targeted, reducing staff by about 30,000 people rather than 80,000, the agency said on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has abandoned plans for mass layoffs but still anticipates the exit of 30,000 employees by the end of the fiscal year.  Previous downsizing goals aimed to return the agency to 2019-level staffing of roughly 398,