HUD Restructuring Could Relocate 900 Employees

The Housing and Urban Development Department has announced a “major restructuring” of field offices that will result in the relocation of approximately 10 percent of its workforce.

HUD’s Multifamily Housing Programs and Field Policy and Management Offices will consolidate workplaces beginning this fall, according to the agency, and take place over the next two years.

“The current organizational model for HUD is not sustainable from a financial and a service delivery point of view,” Maurice Jones, HUD’s deputy secretary, said in a statement issued Wednesday. “We are reviewing every aspect of our operation to determine if we have the right people in the right places, and we're determining where we can be even more efficient, to get the most value out of our limited resources. We’re in a different budget environment and we’re at a point where we must make some extremely tough choices.”

He said HUD appreciated the difficulty this could place on some employees, but called the plan “sensitive to the needs and concerns” of HUD workers. All notification requirements for both union and non-union workers will be satisfied, HUD said.

HUD will not be laying off any employees, though around 900 of its 9,000 employees may be asked to relocate. The department estimated that once fully implemented, the plan will generate up to $45 million in savings annually.

Multifamily housing programs employees -- who currently work in 50 offices around the country -- will be consolidated into 10 offices and report to five “hubs.” Sixteen of the 80 Field Policy and Management offices will also be closed.

“The most difficult part of implementing these changes is the appreciation of the very personal impact they have on employees who have dedicated years of their life to the mission of HUD,” Jones said. “Realistically, there is no way to make the kind of structural changes we are talking about without there being some impact on our staff, but, again, we are committed to taking all necessary steps to reduce the negative impact they will feel.”