The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced an agency-wide restructuring that will cut 2,700 jobs. This significant reduction accounts for 43% of the agency’s workforce. This move is part of an effort to streamline the agency’s operations and increase effectiveness by returning to pre-pandemic staffing levels that are more aligned with the size during President Donald Trump’s first presidential term. The reductions will occur through voluntary resignations, the expiration of pandemic-era positions, and direct job cuts.
This downsizing is part of a broader initiative by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which aims to shrink the size of the federal government and cut at least $1 trillion from the federal budget. The United States federal government is one of the largest employers in the country, with over 3 million employees on the payroll.
The shrinking also aims to address fraud in the federal loan programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). According to the DOGE’s investigation, roughly $333 million in fraudulent loans were issued between 2020 and 2021.
Kelly Loeffler, the new administrator of the SBA, is spearheading the agency’s shrinking. In a post on X, she wrote, “We’re ending the wasteful spending, mismanagement, and partisan agenda of the Biden Admin.”
Today, SBA announced a 43% workforce reduction, right-sizing the agency to its pre-pandemic staffing levels.
We’re ending the wasteful spending, mismanagement, and partisan agenda of the Biden Admin.
Like the small businesses we serve, we will do more with less! https://t.co/LIr303AnYG
— Kelly Loeffler (@SBA_Kelly) March 22, 2025
The agency aims to do “more with less” by eliminating “non-mission-critical” positions and consolidating operations. Despite the significant reduction in the workforce, the SBA has confirmed that its loan guarantee, disaster assistance programs, and field and veteran operations will remain unaffected.
In a separate announcement, President Donald Trump revealed that the SBA will also assume additional responsibilities, including managing federal student loans following the dismantling of the Department of Education.
The SBA projects that these workforce reductions will save taxpayers more than $435 million annually by fiscal year 2026.
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