The Pentagon is undertaking a significant effort to downsize its civilian workforce, aiming for a reduction of 50,000 to 60,000 employees. This equates to approximately 5% to 8% of its total civilian workforce of 878,000. The plan, currently voluntary, has introduced a series of measures to facilitate workforce reductions without immediate forced terminations. However, whether these voluntary measures will be sufficient remains uncertain.
A senior defense official, speaking to reporters, emphasized that while the number may seem large, the percentage reduction is modest. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has expressed confidence that this restructuring can be achieved without compromising military readiness. The goal, according to the official, is to ensure that resources are allocated efficiently while minimizing disruption.
To encourage voluntary departures, the Pentagon has introduced a program known as the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP). Under this initiative, employees can resign but continue receiving their salaries until the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
So far, approximately 21,000 employees have had their voluntary resignation requests approved. The Pentagon has not disclosed how many in total have applied for this option. A previous report indicated that under the Trump administration, 31,000 employees had sought to resign under a similar initiative, though some requests were denied.
Additionally, the Pentagon has implemented a hiring freeze, halting the influx of approximately 6,000 new employees per month. This means that as employees leave, their positions will not be immediately refilled, contributing to the reduction efforts.
Pentagon is cutting 50,000 to 60,000 jobs with about 21,000 taking voluntary resignations.
“The cuts are part of the broader effort by the Department of Government Efficiency Service.”
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Another key element of the downsizing strategy is the termination of 5,400 probationary civilian employees—individuals with less than one or two years of experience in their roles. However, this process has been temporarily halted due to a federal judge’s restraining order.
The official stressed that these employees were not selected arbitrarily based on tenure but rather because they were documented as significantly underperforming or had records of misconduct. The Department currently has 54,000 probationary employees in total, and it remains unclear how many of the 5,400 individuals marked for termination fit these specific criteria.
While the Pentagon hopes to achieve its workforce reduction goals through voluntary means, it has not ruled out the possibility of additional measures should those efforts fall short. When asked about potential “reduction in force” strategies that might be used if voluntary reductions are insufficient, the senior official declined to speculate, stating that the Secretary of Defense would ultimately make such decisions.
There has also been speculation that military personnel could be reassigned to fill some of the vacant civilian roles. However, the official maintained that the goal is to ensure that the restructuring does not negatively impact military readiness. “We are confident we could absorb those removals without detriment to our ability to continue the mission,” the official stated.
Notably, some of the departing civilian employees will be military veterans, though the Pentagon has not provided an estimate of how many. The official acknowledged the critical skills and experience that veterans bring to the department, stating that these factors are considered in workforce reduction decisions.
As the Pentagon navigates this workforce restructuring, the coming months will determine whether voluntary departures alone can meet the stated reduction targets or if additional measures will need to be implemented.
