NEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration said it will cut its workforce by 43%, or about 2,700 jobs, as part of a reorganization.
The SBA was established in 1953 to offer resources to small businesses and helps administer small business and disaster recovery loans. It played a crucial role during the pandemic, helping distribute small business aid. Now the goal is to return to pre-pandemic staffing levels and cut some programs started during the Biden administration, said the new head of the SBA, Kelly Loeffler.
“By eliminating non-mission-critical positions and consolidating functions, we will revert to the staffing levels of the last Trump Administration,” Loeffler said Friday in a statement.
The SBA said its loan guarantee and disaster assistance programs, as well as its field and veteran operations, won't be affected. The staffing reductions, which will cull 2,700 jobs from the agency's workforce of 6,500, will be a combination of voluntary resignations, the expiration of COVID-era and other term appointments, and some job cuts.
The layoffs at the federal agency are part of a larger campaign by the Trump Administration to shrink the federal workforce, an effort has been led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Separately on Friday, Trump announced student loans would be handled by the SBA as part of a plan to shift Education Department responsibilities to other federal agencies. The SBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
