The U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) workforce is at its lowest level in the past century as a result of buyouts, early outs, and employees leaving the agency for other reasons.  GPO offered buyouts and early outs to the agency's employees during the second half of calendar year 2011 as a result of overall Government cutbacks and projected reductions in appropriated funding. The buyout program targeted a reduction of 15%, or 330 employees, while ensuring that critical agency functions were not depleted of essential staff strength.

GPO has attained its workforce reduction goal while maintaining the necessary employees to carry out the agency's mission of Keeping America Informed. When the buyout program began, there were 2,232 employees.  When it ended on December 31, there were 1,920 employees. Since 1980, GPO has reduced its workforce by 70% as the result of using new technologies, a rate of change unparalleled elsewhere among other Legislative Branch agencies.

A total of 247 employees took GPO's buyout/early out offer.  In addition, there was a net reduction of 65 other employees from GPO during the same period, bringing the total to 312 departures. GPO anticipates saving nearly $17.9 million for the remainder of FY 2012 and  $23.9 million in FY 2013, the first full year of saving after implementing the buyouts/early outs. 

"Our goal is to do more with less in serving Congress, the White House, Federal agencies, and the public," said Acting Public Printer Davita Vance-Cooks. "The buyout we conducted last year will make GPO more efficient in meeting the information dissemination needs of our customers as the digital information platform for the Federal Government."

GPO is the Federal Government's primary resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government in both digital and tangible formats.  GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. In addition to publication sales, GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through GPO's Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) and through partnerships with approximately 1,220 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visitwww.gpo.gov.  Follow GPO on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/USGPO Twitter http://twitter.com/USGPO and on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/gpoprinter.