The report, Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Shortages in Mission-Critical Positions Have Continued to Increase (GAO-26-108674), found that from fiscal year 2023 through FY 2025, DOE-EM’s staff decreased by 33 percent, from 1,272 to 856. This resulted in an overall vacancy rate of 45 percent as of the end of FY 2025, based on the office’s 2023 staffing needs of 1,515 full-time employees.
DOE-EM currently is proposing a staffing level of 950 full-time employees. Earlier this year, the Office of Personnel Management approved a DOE request to hire 174 staff from external sources and internally from other department offices to offset both current and future staffing gaps.
The reason: The GAO noted that, like many other federal departments and agencies, the DOE took steps to reduce its workforce following the election of President Trump. Within DOE-EM, the GAO found that of the 409 staff who left in 2025, 76 percent (312) separated through the White House’s deferred resignation program. Almost half (180) were in positions considered mission-critical, including those in engineering, contracting, physical sciences, and information technology management.
The GAO added that the office’s regular attrition rate may increase in the future, because 35 percent (299 staff) of DOE-EM’s current 856 employees will be eligible to retire by the end of 2030.
Why it is important: The GAO has reported in the past that DOE-EM staffing shortages have negatively affected the office’s ability to meet its mission. “Specifically, agency documentation has reported that staffing shortages have contributed to missed safety inspections, cost overruns, schedule delays, and accidents such as fires and radiation leaks,” the GAO stated in its 2024 report, Nuclear Waste Cleanup: Changes Needed to Address Current and Growing Shortages in Mission-Critical Positions.
In its latest report, the GAO said it was told by DOE-EM officials in December 2025 that 59 positions considered especially key to safety were vacant. “According to [DOE-EM] officials, leaving these positions vacant means there are fewer people to manage the workload, resulting in employees potentially burning out with heavy workloads, which gives them concern over the safety of operations,” the report states.
According to the GAO, several DOE-EM sites have shortages of two key mission-critical positions: facility representatives and federal project directors. These positions, like many others, require a year or more of training before new staff are fully qualified for the positions.
The recommendations: In its 2024 report, the GAO made 10 recommendations to DOE-EM to improve its workforce management, including the development of a forward-looking workforce plan and updates agreements with the DOE’s Shared Service Center, which handles most of the office’s hiring functions.
