The U.S. Department of Agriculture will move thousands of employees out of the nation’s capital in a reorganization the agency says will put them closer to customers while saving money,

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) warned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture shuttering most of its Washington, D.C. operations could hurt the department's ability "to provide critical services to Americans.

The administration is asking employees “to help the agency with no guarantee of protection in the future," one staffer says.

USDA will move the majority of its D.C. staff in phases to five hubs across the country in a move it claims is to lower the cost of living for its employees. At the end of the reorganization, the agency plans to have no more than 2,000 of its current 4,600 employees remaining in the region.

More than half of the USDA's employees will relocate to regional hubs around the country, including Kansas City. The regional hubs were selected with cost of living in mind.