Pentagon Plans 60,000 Civilian Job Cuts Amid Restructuring

Pentagon Plans 60,000 Civilian Job Cuts Amid Restructuring \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The Pentagon plans to cut between 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs, mainly through hiring freezes and voluntary resignations. Defense officials insist military readiness won’t be compromised, despite concerns of service members filling civilian roles. The reductions are part of broader federal downsizing led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency Service.

Pentagon Plans 60,000 Civilian Job Cuts — Quick Looks

• Pentagon to cut between 50,000 and 60,000 civilian positions.
• Cuts will happen through voluntary resignations, probationary firings, and attrition.
• Fewer than 21,000 voluntary resignations have been approved.
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists military readiness won’t suffer.
• Elon Musk’s DOGE Service is leading broader government workforce reductions.
• Veterans will be among those impacted, though numbers remain unclear.
• An average of 6,000 jobs will be eliminated monthly via hiring freezes.
• Plans to fire probationary workers paused after legal challenges.
• Some personnel cuts face federal court scrutiny for legality.
• Democrats question if DOGE is acting within federal law through FOIA requests.

Deep Look

The U.S. Department of Defense is preparing for a significant reduction in its civilian workforce, aiming to cut between 50,000 and 60,000 jobs in the coming months. A senior defense official revealed these details to reporters on Tuesday, explaining that fewer than 21,000 of those jobs will be vacated through an approved voluntary resignation plan, leaving the Pentagon to rely heavily on hiring freezes and attrition to meet its downsizing goals.

The targeted reduction represents a 5% to 8% cut of the Pentagon’s current civilian workforce, which exceeds 900,000 employees. According to the defense official, the Pentagon intends to eliminate roughly 6,000 civilian positions each month by simply not filling vacancies left by routine departures. While this may seem like a gradual process, concerns are mounting over whether military service members will be forced to fill these civilian roles, potentially impacting readiness and morale.

The official, who spoke under anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been clear that the reduction plan should not undermine the military’s operational readiness. Hegseth has given military branch secretaries and Pentagon personnel leaders the authority to grant exemptions to the hiring freeze in critical areas.

These drastic cuts are part of a larger federal workforce reduction initiative led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency Service (DOGE), which has been tasked with streamlining the federal government under President Donald Trump’s direction. Musk’s controversial efforts aim to slash bureaucratic redundancies and reduce government headcounts, but they have drawn legal challenges and mounting political scrutiny.

In response to the cuts, concerns have arisen that military veterans, who make up a significant portion of the Pentagon’s civilian workforce, will also be disproportionately affected. While the defense official acknowledged that “some” veterans will be among those let go, the exact numbers remain unknown but could reach into the thousands.

The Pentagon is using a three-pronged strategy to implement these workforce reductions:

1. Voluntary resignation plans (known as the “Fork in the Road” offer).
2. Firing of probationary employees.
3. Attrition-based cuts, where positions vacated by routine departures will not be refilled.

While many applied for the voluntary resignation program, only a portion was approved due to national security concerns and the need to maintain balanced staffing in certain departments. Some applicants were denied to prevent entire offices from being emptied of personnel.

Probationary terminations, another component of the reduction plan, have been temporarily halted due to court orders. Initially, the Pentagon targeted approximately 5,400 out of 54,000 probationary employees for termination. However, federal judges ordered the rehiring of thousands after finding that the mass firings violated federal employment procedures. Ongoing legal challenges have paused these terminations across multiple agencies, with some lawsuits claiming tens of thousands of workers were improperly dismissed.

In an average year, the Defense Department hires about 70,000 civilians, which averages out to 6,000 hires per month. With this freeze in place and targeted cuts ongoing, it remains unclear what percentage of these positions will be permanently eliminated. Pentagon officials say that services will continue to evaluate job functions on a case-by-case basis to ensure national security responsibilities are not compromised.

Secretary Hegseth has expressed confidence that these staffing reductions can be carried out without affecting military readiness. Speaking in Germany last month, he said, “There are waste, redundancies, and headcounts in headquarters that need to be addressed,” while confirming plans to integrate DOGE initiatives into the Pentagon’s restructuring.

Beyond the Defense Department, approximately 75,000 federal workers are being laid off through the “deferred resignation program” buyouts, part of Trump’s larger reduction-in-force orders aimed at trimming the size of the federal government. At least 24,000 probationary workers were initially dismissed across various agencies but are now part of ongoing legal battles questioning the legality of these mass firings.

The personnel shakeup has drawn political attention. Top Democrats on the House Judiciary and House Oversight Committees recently filed a Freedom of Information Act request, obtained by The Associated Press, probing whether Musk’s DOGE Service is operating beyond the boundaries of federal law. The FOIA request seeks detailed information about decision-making processes, legality, and oversight around these sweeping cuts.

As the Pentagon navigates these challenges, uncertainty remains about the ultimate impact on national security, workforce morale, and military effectiveness. While Hegseth and Musk champion efficiency, critics argue that gutting essential civilian jobs — many filled by veterans and skilled professionals — could erode critical support systems the military depends on. With legal challenges mounting and bipartisan concerns growing, the fate of the Pentagon’s civilian workforce and broader federal job cuts hangs in the balance.

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