A sign marks the headquarters of the Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 20, 2025.REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Dec 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate as many as 35,000 health care positions this month, the Washington Post reported on Saturday, citing an internal memo, Veterans Affairs staffers and congressional aides.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

The cuts involve mostly unfulfilled jobs including doctors, nurses and support staff, the report said.

The agency hopes that the cuts will reduce the health care workforce to as little as 372,000 employees, a 10% reduction from last year, the report added, citing a memo shared with regional leaders last month.

The Department of Veterans Affairs did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The Washington Post report said a Veterans Affairs Department spokesperson confirmed the job cuts for unfilled positions.

"The health care system is eliminating about 26,400 of its open jobs, which he described as "mostly covid-era roles that are no longer necessary," the Washington Post quoted Veterans Affairs Department spokesperson Pete Kasperowicz as saying.

"This move will have no effect on VA operations or the way the department delivers care to Veterans, as we are simply eliminating open and unfilled positions that are no longer needed," Kasperowicz was also quoted as saying.

The cuts come after the agency cut about 30,000 jobs in July, making two-thirds fewer employee cuts this fiscal year than it first targeted.

(Reporting by Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexander Smith)