Interior chief: Restructuring plan won’t cut jobs or bureaus

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke promised Thursday that no jobs would be lost or bureaus cut in the agency’s proposed restructuring plans.

“At the end of day I don’t think we’re going to lose anyone in terms of numbers. I think numbers will be pushed more to the front line,” Zinke said at a town hall for department employees.

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Instead of cutting jobs or merging bureaus, Zinke said the plan’s focus was on better coordination and on moving bureaus with similar tasks under the same leadership so “all interests are represented.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re going to eliminate the park service or one of our bureaus,” Zinke added.

Zinke first announced plans to overhaul the department’s structure earlier this month. The yet-to-be-finalized plans would move tens of thousands of government employees to new locations across the country and reorganize the management of federal lands.

“We’re looking at reshaping our current bureau-based regional system of management and moving to a system based on ecosystems, watersheds and science, rather than the current state or regional boundaries,” Zinke said in a video message to the department’s 70,000 workers at the time.