Reston-headquartered General Dynamics Information Technology is cutting 174 workers at the Pentagon in August, the single largest layoff in a summer that has seen Virginia job losses surge 52% over last year.
The GDIT cuts are part of 433 positions being eliminated statewide in August across six companies, according to Virginia's Department of Workforce Development data. Between June 21 and Aug. 31, Virginia employers have announced 2,899 job losses, up from 1,907 in the same period in 2025 and more than triple the 773 cut in summer 2024.
The losses hit the Dulles Toll Road tech corridor directly. GDIT, a subsidiary of Reston-headquartered General Dynamics Corporation, is the largest single employer filing in the August batch.
It is not the only Reston-based firm shedding workers. Virginia WARN Act filings show AOL cut 108 positions effective March 2026, Peraton laid off 92 workers in December 2025, and Qbase closed its Reston office in December 2025, eliminating 60 jobs. Leidos QTC cut 77 workers in August 2025.
Office vacancies climbing
The job losses are compounding an already soft office market. Reston's direct office vacancy rate stood at 24.5% in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to CoStar data compiled for Fairfax County, well above the countywide average of 20.9%. Northern Virginia's overall vacancy hit 24.0% in the first quarter of 2026, with net absorption at negative 27,000 square feet, per Cushman & Wakefield's Q1 2026 marketbeat.
The Reston-Herndon submarket recorded negative 160,074 square feet of net absorption in the third quarter of 2025, according to Lincoln Property Company's market report. Reston Square, a Class A building near Wiehle-Reston East Metro, reported committed occupancy of just 69.0% as of March 31, 2026, per Prime US REIT's investor presentation.
Broader regional pain
As we reported July 19, the Washington metropolitan region lost 100,500 jobs between May 2025 and May 2026, with more than half being federal positions, according to the Metropolitan Council of Governments. Northern Virginia's unemployed population ticked up from 46,028 in April 2026 to 47,700 in May, per the Northern Virginia Regional Commission.
Virginia's statewide unemployment rate remains 3.8%, below the national 4.3%. But year-to-date job losses have reached 6,102, roughly 1,000 more than the same point in 2025.
Some bright spots
Not all Reston defense contractors are shrinking. Leidos, headquartered on Discovery Drive with approximately 50,000 global employees, won an $869 million U.S. Army contract in April 2026. And Reston/Herndon led Northern Virginia in new office leasing during the first quarter of 2026, with 139,000 square feet of deals including GRVTY signing 46,400 square feet at 2551 Dulles View Drive and Amentum Services taking 45,000 square feet at 1900 Reston Metro Plaza.
