A succession management and worker retention program, started in 2024, has been suspended at the federal insurer of bank deposits considering massive “reduction in force” (RIF) efforts ordered by the Trump Administration earlier this year, the agency’s inspector general said in a memo released Wednesday.
“In light of the evolving workforce landscape facing the Federal Government and the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.), as well as the FDIC’s ongoing work to address a recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendation, we believe it is prudent to delay further work at this time,” the memo stated from Acting Assistant Inspector General for Audits Jason M. Yovich. “The FDIC OIG plans to revisit and report on the FDIC’s efforts in these areas once the FDIC has had the opportunity to more fully implement its Workforce Optimization Initiative.”
According to the memo, the succession management and worker retention project was announced Oct. 10, 2024. The preliminary objective, the OIG memo stated, was to determine to what extent “the FDIC has taken and sustained actions to address the risks related to succession management for key positions and roles and employee retention.”
However, the memo notes, that in April the FDIC announced its “Reduction-in-Force (RIF) and Reorganization Plan,” which set the stage for the agency’s subsequent “Workforce Optimization initiative.” That effort, the memo stated, seeks a staff reduction of approximately 1,250 positions across most agency divisions and offices.
“To achieve this future organizational structure, the FDIC initiated targeted voluntary separation incentives including the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA), Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP), and Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) to certain employees,” the memo states. “These voluntary separation incentives were available to employees from April 28, 2025 through May 5, 2025. Employees who opted for the VSIP or VERA (without the DRP) would generally depart the FDIC by June 30, 2025,” the agency added.
Wednesday’s memo was instigated at least in part, the memo indicates, by a February letter from “several United States Senators” about the FDIC’s decision to rescind jobs offered to bank examiners.
“Our February 19, 2025, response indicated that we would be adjusting our work to analyze the challenges currently unfolding at the FDIC and to ensure that stakeholders, including those in Congress receive the most current and relevant information on these matters,” the memo stated.
However, the memo also indicated that the agency intends to continue its work in the future on worker retention and succession management. That is, after the RIF is completed by the end of this month.
“To ensure the continued, successful accomplishment of the FDIC’s mission of maintaining stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system, the FDIC needs to sustain attention to agency-wide resource planning, as well as the above-mentioned succession management and employee retention challenges,” the memo stated. “We believe that the FDIC has an opportunity to leverage our previous recommendation and fully integrate its anticipated agency-wide resource committee into its workforce optimization efforts. Such integration would align the prioritization of existing resources across the FDIC, facilitate succession management discussions and activities, and enhance workforce optimization strategies throughout the FDIC.
“The OIG plans to reexamine the FDIC’s efforts in these areas once the FDIC has had the opportunity to more fully implement its Workforce Optimization Initiative,” the memo stated.
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