A coalition of unions and other groups is renewing efforts to halt the Agriculture Department’s reorganization, citing previously undisclosed documents showing that USDA expects nearly a quarter of its employees to quit rather than relocate.
The reduction-in-force plan documents, which were previously confidential, were submitted to a federal judge in California late Wednesday as part of a continuing bid to halt or reverse the Trump administration’s campaign to cut the size of the federal government.
The reorganization was intended to reduce USDA’s workforce “by approximately 23,177 which is a 23% overall reduction,” according to the 2025 internal planning documents. Officials added that they expect that “a significant number of employees will decline geographic reassignments.” Thousands of USDA employees across the country took buyout offers last year, and unions have warned that most employees who declined buyout offers would also decline offers to relocate.
Approximately 2,600 Washington-area positions are set to relocate to a number of “regional hubs” across the country during the reorganization. USDA expects relocated employees to move this summer, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said earlier this year.
“All aspects of” relocation must be completed within one year of the effective reassignment date, according to answers on a list of FAQs about the reassignment plan obtained by POLITICO last month. Employees who decline to relocate will effectively resign or retire, according to the agency.
Department leaders also said they would be reviewing the number of employees who opted to take buyouts to see “if any further downsizing is needed” in “the coming weeks.”
The unions filed new motions Wednesday to temporarily halt the sweeping reorganization of USDA, arguing that the plans are aimed at gutting the workforce rather than efficiency.
The government employees’ unions said the now-public USDA plans confirm that the administration’s goal is to “arbitrarily and without congressional authorization” downsize the department. The reorganization planning document opens with a reference to President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding the Department of Government Efficiency, which directed agencies to shrink and overhaul the federal bureaucracy.
“Significantly, while USDA’s public Secretary Memorandum professes that the reorganization is not intended to engage in large workforce reductions, the [documents] prove that USDA’s efforts to force employees to relocate were crafted with the express intent to compel employees to quit and thereby achieve large workforce reduction targets without having to engage in RIFs,” the plaintiffs said in their request to halt the plan.
USDA’s previously private plans show that Trump officials have targeted specific agencies to be hit hardest by reductions in force including the Food and Nutrition Administration, Rural Development and administrative roles.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has billed the overhaul as a necessary step to move USDA’s employees closer to farmers. The vast majority of USDA’s employees are already stationed in local and regional offices across the country to carry out farmer-facing programs.
Vaden told Senate Agriculture Committee members in July 2025 that he expected more than a majority of workers who receive relocation notices would be willing to move and keep their jobs. As officials have rolled out details about the plans, they told employees that their jobs would not be eliminated.
A USDA spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation.
