By Ryan Hanrahan
Politico’s Rachel Shin reported that “employees should expect to receive more detail about USDA’s reorganization ‘by the beginning of this summer,’ (Agriculture Secretary Brooke) Rollins said during a brief interview outside the department Friday. ‘We’re going to be flexible if they can’t move right away or they’ve got other issues,’ she added. ‘We’re working really hard to support these career employees and make sure that they have what they need, that this hopefully is a positive experience for all, understanding that anytime a job relocates, probably not the easiest thing.'”
“More than 20,000 USDA employees have already departed the department through various Trump administration policies, including last year’s deferred resignation initiative,” Shin reported. “The vast majority of employees are already based outside of the capital region. USDA’s reorganization is expected to move around 2,600 employees from Washington to five hubs around the country.”
“Asked if she had concerns about a decline in institutional knowledge amid the reorganization, she acknowledged some concerns with understaffing,” Shin reported. “‘Anytime you go through a significant reorganization of any organization, corporate, government, school, etc., it’s always going to be a little bit clunky,’ she noted. As USDA has received complaints about understaffed offices, the department has ‘worked really hard to be basically on the spot within a short period of time,’ she said.”
“Rollins added that she is ‘excited’ about the second year of her tenure at USDA and the forthcoming reorganization,” Shin reported. “‘It’s not seamless. It never will be, but it has been better than I expected,’ she said. ‘The career employees that we work with every day are extraordinary. We’ve started giving awards to our career employees. We call them the unsung heroes of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.'”
Source : illinois.edu