A federal agency responsible for protecting consumers in financial matters announced Wednesday it will bring nearly all of its field staff back to Washington, D.C., in what appears to be another effort to reduce the organization’s scope.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to move approximately 450 workers from locations near its previous regional centers in San Francisco, Atlanta, Chicago and New York to its Washington headquarters. The agency will also eliminate remote work options, according to an internal email.
This consolidation is expected to prompt more employees to leave the agency, adding to a trend of departures that has already reduced staffing significantly.
For over a year, the current administration has been fighting in federal courts to gain approval for plans to cut the majority of the agency’s employees, though legal challenges have prevented this so far.
Agency representatives did not provide immediate responses to requests for comment made after regular business hours Wednesday.
High-ranking administration officials, including the president, have characterized the CFPB, which Congress established in 2010, as a politically motivated obstacle to business freedom. Meanwhile, opposition party members and supporters of the agency view elimination efforts as favoring corporations over consumer interests.
Workers currently based at the agency’s headquarters near the White House must return to in-person work five days per week starting in July, the internal communication stated.
Starting August 31, the email specified that “staff whose duty stations are greater than 50 miles from headquarters, staff associated with former regional offices” and all field workers will need to report to the new headquarters location.
The agency will provide relocation expenses for “eligible” employees following existing guidelines, according to a separate memo.
In February, the administration terminated the lease on the CFPB’s well-positioned Washington headquarters near the White House. The building now partially serves as workspace for Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, who also serves as acting director of the consumer protection agency.
The replacement office is located in a different area of the capital with less convenient public transit access, the email indicated.
Since the administration announced plans to eliminate the agency last year and suspended most of its operations, the CFPB has lost roughly one-third of its approximately 1,700 employees, court documents show.
Officials are currently seeking judicial approval to terminate about half of the workers who remain.
