A spokesperson for the Pittsburgh VA said the information in the memo was false.
A memo that was recently obtained by a reporting outlet said that the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System plans to cut nearly 10% of its workforce as the agency makes cuts nationwide.
The memo showed that the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System was allotted 4,551 positions out of about 18,000 positions that were allocated to the regional service network VISN 4.
The healthcare system currently employs 4,932 individuals, according to the memo.
VISN 4 encompasses nine campuses, 46 outpatient clinics, and 16 vet centers across counties in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Ohio, West Virginia, New York, and New Jersey.
The Pittsburgh VA serves about 93,000 veterans with a $1.2 billion budget, according to the network’s annual report for 2025.
A spokesperson for the VA said that the information presented in the memo was false.
“Not a single person employed at VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System is losing their job,” said spokesperson Shelley Nulph in a statement.
In a video posted on social media, U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Douglas Collins referred to the obtained memo as “fake news.”
“All we are doing is taking unfilled and unnecessary positions off the books,” said Secretary Collins in the post.
Transcripts revealed that senior leaders of the healthcare system were informed on Monday that changes will be made to the organizational structure of the system, including staffing reductions.
Staff were notified that they will receive further communications about any reductions throughout the holiday season. The transcripts also said that in-person town halls are being planned for the first week of January.
“Through this exercise, it was determined that it will be impossible to continue all services with this reduction in headcount,” the memo said.
The reduction in the workforce comes as the Trump administration continues to eliminate wasteful government spending by reducing unnecessary costs and streamlining government efficiency.
