1,200 FNS staff face reorg as relocation pause holds

In Alexandria, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service told employees in an Oct. 6 email it had moved into a four-unit structure while most relocation orders remained paused through Tuesday.

The shift matters in the Washington region because about one-third of the agency’s remaining 1,200 employees live locally, and FNS oversees 16 nutrition programs serving one in four Americans each year.

Acting FNS Administrator Shiela Corley told staff the agency “officially transitioned into our new organizational structure” at the start of fiscal 2027. The agency, recently rebranded by the Trump administration as the Food and Nutrition Administration, administers programs including SNAP and WIC.

The new operating map divides FNS into State Support & Evaluation, Nutrition Research & Regulations, Benefits & Integrity, and Retailer Operations & Compliance. Corley wrote that those offices “form the backbone of the agency” and are responsible for national program administration, regulatory oversight, program integrity and operational consistency.

For employees in Alexandria and across the D.C. area, the immediate concern is whether jobs now based near the capital will move to USDA hubs elsewhere. FNS plans to relocate most staff to hubs in Indiana, Texas, Missouri and North Carolina, but a federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily halted deadlines tied to management-directed reassignment letters.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria’s administrative stay is scheduled to remain in place through Oct. 13 while he considers whether to issue a preliminary injunction.

That injunction would indefinitely block USDA relocation plans for about 2,600 employees.

The court order affects employees who have already received reassignment notices. It does not stop FNS from changing internal reporting lines, which is why the agency’s restructuring is moving ahead while the relocation piece remains unresolved.

The National Treasury Employees Union Chapter 226, which represents FNS workers, has said more than 80% of staff who responded to an internal survey said they would not move to keep their jobs. The union says the relocation plan could deepen staffing losses and put food assistance programs at risk of disruption.

USDA leaders have said the reorganization and relocations will improve customer service and will not interrupt agency programs. A senior USDA official told the court in August that 725 USDA employees had received relocation letters and that 64% had accepted reassignment.

Employees have disputed that figure. They said some workers accepted reassignment notices because doing so was the only way to seek a hardship or medical exemption, while others accepted to gain time to look for a D.C.-area job.

The restructuring follows broader workforce cuts at USDA. The department cut about 20,000 employees, roughly one-fifth of its workforce, largely through voluntary separation incentives last year. FNS has lost about 30% of its workforce under the second Trump administration.

Congress also placed limits on USDA’s ability to reorganize or relocate offices or employees. The fiscal 2026 appropriations bill for USDA included language blocking such moves without approval from House and Senate appropriations committees.

Chhabria recently questioned how much authority Congress and appropriators have over USDA’s reorganization decisions. That question now sits at the center of the relocation fight affecting employees in the capital region and in USDA offices around the country.

Another USDA restructuring is unfolding in the department’s technology office. A USDA IT employee said a reorganization of the Office of the Chief Information Officer had been expected to take effect Oct. 1 but was pushed to mid-December because of processing delays in human resources.

Corley told employees FNS had received numerous questions about how programs would be arranged under the new structure. She said the agency would provide more information in biweekly updates throughout fiscal 2027.

Next deadlines

The immediate date is Oct. 13, when Chhabria’s administrative stay is scheduled to run through while he weighs whether to grant a preliminary injunction covering about 2,600 USDA employees.

The technology office’s separate reorganization is now expected in mid-December after the Oct. 1 date slipped because of HR processing delays, according to a USDA IT employee.

FNS employees are also due to receive additional biweekly updates during fiscal 2027 on how programs will fit inside the new structure.