Numerous Veterans Affairs employees across the country, including a few employees at the Ann Arbor Healthcare System, learned their roles were terminated as U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins announced cuts to 1,000 non-mission critical positions in the department on Feb. 13.

One Ann Arbor employee found out she was being fired after being locked out of her government accounts at that time. Now she says she's expecting an offer to return to the VA Hospital, but it will be in a different role.

The woman, who spoke to CBS News Detroit anonymously to avoid jeopardizing this opportunity, said she already had fears about her future with the VA after an executive order ending government diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs placed her on administrative leave in January.

After working with the VA for the past 28 years, she was considered a probationary employee because she accepted a promotion less than a year ago. Around the time the cuts were announced, she learned she was being let go, along with two other employees who worked in DEI.

She credits her human resources director and previous supervisor for advocating on her behalf in the offer to return.

In a video released Thursday, Collins said the job cuts were putting veterans first, but the Ann Arbor employee, who's a veteran herself, isn't buying it.

"It does not put veterans first because you're getting rid of the very staff we need to train us, to take care of us if you will," she said. "Even when you look to diversity and inclusion because a lot of people say, 'Hey, I want someone who looks like me or someone who can understand.'"

Michigan U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin echoed her fellow veteran in a statement saying:

"Elon Musk and DOGE know nothing about the VA, and these arbitrary cuts threaten to disrupt the services that our veterans rely on. Veterans' benefits are earned through years of service, and we owe it to them to deliver. As a new member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, I have been meeting with VA leaders across the state, including a visit to the Iron Mountain VA Medical Center this weekend, to understand how these latest cuts will impact the VA facilities Michigan relies on." 

Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell expressed concern for those who use the services at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital and the Detroit VA Hospital, which is named after her late husband.

"They were worried about patient safety, how long it was going to take people to get appointments. There are a number of other issues as they're transitioning to a new electronic records system. Do they have enough staff to do it? There have been problems transitioning to this new system," Dingell said.

However, Collins claimed the move is putting veterans first. He said these cuts will not negatively impact veteran care, they will not cut veteran services, and they are not firing any veteran crisis line responders.

"We took almost $98 million that were being spent elsewhere and put it toward veterans and veteran facing. That's the kind of thing we're trying to do here," he said in the video.

The Ann Arbor employee said she's thankful for another chance to work with the VA, but the situation caused her and her family a lot of stress. She said she's still skeptical about how secure her employment will be.