WASHINGTON. Approximately 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs will be cut in the Defense Department, but fewer than 21,000 workers who took a voluntary resignation plan are leaving in the coming months, a senior defense official told reporters Tuesday.
To reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut in a civilian workforce of more than 900,000, the official said, the Pentagon aims to slash about 6,000 positions a month by simply not replacing workers who routinely leave.
A key concern is that service members may then be tapped to fill those civilian jobs left empty by the hiring freeze. But the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide personnel details, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to ensure the cuts don’t hurt military readiness.
The cuts are part of the broader effort by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk ‘s Department of Government Efficiency Service to slash the federal workforce and dismantle U.S. agencies.
A key concern is that service members may then be tapped to fill those civilian jobs left empty by the hiring freeze. But the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide personnel details, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to ensure the cuts don’t hurt military readiness.
The cuts are part of the broader effort by billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk ‘s Department of Government Efficiency Service to slash the federal workforce and dismantle U.S. agencies.
Acknowledging that “some” military veterans will be among the civilians let go, the official would not estimate how many but agreed it could be thousands.
The department is using three ways to accomplish the workforce cuts: voluntary resignations, firing probationary workers and cutting jobs as employees routinely leave. The official said the military services and Pentagon officials are going over the personnel on a case-by-case basis to ensure cuts don’t affect critical national security jobs.
Officials would not say how many Defense Department civilians requested the voluntary resignation plan — also known as the “Fork in the Road” offer — but said more requested it than the number who eventually were approved.
The defense official said the “vast majority” were allowed but that in some cases, people were denied for national security reasons or to make sure that too many people in one office didn’t all leave.
He added that Hegseth also has given the secretaries of the military branches and Defense Department personnel leaders the authority to grant exemptions to the hiring freeze.
An average of 70,000 civilians are hired each year, which amounts to about 6,000 a month, he said. Because the services have a good deal of latitude in determining which jobs should not be subject to the freeze, it’s not clear what portion of those 70,000 would actually be eliminated.
