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The General Services Administration (GSA) is moving to reinstate hundreds of employees who were previously laid off from its Public Buildings Service (PBS), which manages the government’s real estate portfolio. This decision reverses reduction-in-force (RIF) notices issued earlier this year, according to the Federal News Network.
Acting PBS Commissioner Andrew Heller informed affected employees that their RIF notices have been rescinded, allowing them the option to return to their former positions. Employees must decide by September 26 whether to accept reinstatement, with a deadline to resume work by October 6 for those who agree.
According to sources, nearly 400 employees are expected to be offered reinstatement. The decision comes as PBS prepares for a delayed agency reorganization that had been paused earlier this summer following changes in top GSA leadership.
GSA spokespersons emphasized that leadership reviewed recent workforce decisions to better serve federal agencies and taxpayers. The move to rescind layoffs and reinstate staff follows a larger federal trend of reversing employee separations, including actions at agencies like the IRS and Labor Department, where hundreds of workers who were on deferred resignation paths have been brought back to fill critical roles.
Some former PBS employees reportedly accepted early separation offers under pressure, fearing layoffs, and now regret leaving after the reinstatement option became available. The reinstatement process includes restoring employees’ IT access and work credentials.
While PBS leadership indicated no immediate plans for further staffing cuts, they warned that ongoing restructuring efforts could still result in additional workforce changes. The agency plans to implement its reorganization in mid-October and will provide more details in an upcoming town hall meeting.
PBS, which makes up about 40% of GSA’s workforce, experienced significant layoffs in early 2017 under the first Trump administration amid plans to reduce the government’s real estate holdings drastically. The agency had aimed to cut up to 63% of its staff and shrink its property portfolio by half, including selling off many federally owned buildings and terminating nearly 1,000 government leases. However, some of these plans have been scaled back or postponed.
