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The General Services Administration is looking at AI tools to help meet its mission, after losing nearly 40% of its workforce.
Under the Trump administration, the federal workforce experienced significant cuts, with over 386,000 employees departing and a net decrease of more than 264,000 positions. The General Services Administration (GSA), responsible for governmentwide services, was particularly affected, losing nearly 40% of its total workforce since fiscal 2024, leading to a pressing need to rebuild capacity.
Nimisha Agarwal, GSA’s Chief Financial Officer, stated that the agency is actively exploring artificial intelligence (AI) tools to 'optimize our existing workforce in a much smarter manner.' The aim is to automate repetitive processes, thereby freeing up employees to perform tasks requiring judgment, risk management, and strategic thinking, enabling them to outperform despite reduced staffing.
While the Trump administration has launched various initiatives to recruit new talent, such as the Merit Hiring Plan, Tech Force Program, and Attorney Talent Network, GSA acknowledges that federal hiring is a slow process. Therefore, hiring alone cannot serve as the sole or fastest mitigation strategy to fully address the deep staffing shortfalls.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which also saw a quarter of its employees leave, is similarly turning to AI tools to boost staff productivity. Gregg Treml, EPA’s deputy CFO, explained that AI helps 'get more time back for our employees to focus on the core things.' The agency is also heavily focused on upskilling its current workforce to enhance efficiency and provide them with necessary technological tools.
Both GSA and EPA have undertaken significant reorganizations to adapt to the reduced workforce and improve efficiency. EPA merged its finance and administrative offices into a single Office of Finance and Administration, allowing for more accurate payroll forecasting. GSA established an Office of Digital Finance to centralize process optimization efforts, encouraging a digitally driven mindset even among non-IT professionals like accountants, and offering new opportunities for employee development.
A GSA spokesperson affirmed the agency's commitment to leading the federal government in deploying cutting-edge, secure, resilient, and scalable AI solutions. The GSA anticipates that continued AI development will play a crucial role in reducing redundancies, saving taxpayer money, and empowering employees with diverse work opportunities, reflecting a broader governmental trend towards technology-driven workforce solutions.