The Agriculture Department is trying to rehire some fired Farm Service Agency loan employees after terminating hundreds of positions earlier this month, two people familiar with the situation confirmed.
But several employees are turning down the return offers, opting instead for more lucrative jobs in the private sector at a commercial bank, they said.
The job cuts threaten to worsen services for farmers and ranchers at a time when they are already facing hefty inflation and frozen federal funding. The Trump administration’s ongoing hiring freeze makes it even more difficult to plug holes in regional and county-level USDA offices, where loan employees are most needed.
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USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
