The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday it plans to reduce its workforce by 23% and close its research and development office.
The loss of more than 3,000 employees comes after layoffs and incentives to leave the agency amid the Trump administration’s broad effort to streamline the federal government.
‘Under President Trump’s leadership, EPA has taken a close look at our operations to ensure the agency is better equipped than ever to deliver on our core mission of protecting human health and the environment while Powering the Great American Comeback,’ EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement.
‘This reduction in force will ensure we can better fulfill that mission while being responsible stewards of your hard-earned tax dollars.’
The EPA said the cuts will save the government $748.8 million.
As part of the restructuring, the EPA said it plans to open a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions to replace the Office of Research and Development, saying the new office would allow it to focus on research ‘more than ever before.’
This comes a week after the Supreme Court issued a ruling clearing the way for the administration to conduct mass layoffs.
Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents thousands of EPA employees, called the research and development office the ‘heart and brain of the EPA.’
‘Without it, we don’t have the means to assess impacts upon human health and the environment,” Chen said. ‘Its destruction will devastate public health in our country.’
Fox News Digital has reached out to the EPA for comment.
This announcement also comes two weeks after 139 employees signed a ‘declaration of dissent’ claiming the Trump administration was hurting the agency’s mission.
The administration claimed the employees were ‘unlawfully undermining’ the president’s agenda.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.