The General Services Administration, a former hub for the Department of Government Efficiency, is looking to hire hundreds of employees after facing deep staffing cuts last year.
The Public Buildings Service, which maintains a portfolio of more than 8,300 owned and leased federal buildings, is back in hiring mode, after widespread layoffs last year.
In a March 30 email obtained by Federal News Network, PBS Chief of Staff Donna Dix told staff that the agency is looking to hire about 400 employees over the next six months.
Early in the Trump administration, GSA was a hotbed of DOGE activity. At DOGE’s urging, GSA leaders sought to cut GSA’s real estate portfolio in half.
At DOGE’s direction, GSA terminated hundreds of government leases. But it quickly walked back most of those terminations after administration officials discovered that closing down these offices would impact public-facing benefits and services. GSA eliminated about 30% of the 900 leases it originally targeted.
GSA cut its workforce faster than it could shrink federal office space. Since October 2024, GSA has lost nearly 40% of its total workforce. PBS, which had entire regional offices eliminated as part of reductions in force last year, saw a commensurate reduction across its workforce, although former GSA leaders pushed for deeper cuts. At one point, GSA sought to eliminate 63% of the PBS workforce.
GSA is also recruiting early-career employees to join its Federal Acquisition Service. GSA told prospective hires in a recent webinar that it’s looking to find 54 candidates for the latest cohort of its Acquisition Talent Development program reserved for recent graduates.
Despite GSA’s near-term hiring plans, the agency is looking to further reduce its overall headcount. According to its fiscal 2027 budget justification, GSA plans to get its headcount just under 9,000 full-time employees next year — a reduction of nearly 1,000 employees compared to current staffing levels.
Lambert here: Buried the lead!
Add new comment