WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense is set to eliminate approximately 50,000 to 60,000 civilian roles. However, fewer than 21,000 of these positions will be vacated by employees who opted for a voluntary resignation plan, according to information shared by a senior defense official on Tuesday.
The objective of this workforce reduction is to achieve a 5% to 8% trim in a civilian workforce that exceeds 900,000. The Pentagon plans to accomplish this by decreasing about 6,000 positions monthly, largely through attrition, without hiring replacements for departing employees.
There is concern that military personnel might be used to fill some of the civilian roles left vacant due to the hiring freeze. Nevertheless, the official, who preferred to remain anonymous, assured that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is committed to ensuring these cuts will not compromise military readiness.
This restructuring aligns with a broader initiative by the Department of Government Efficiency Service, driven by billionaire adviser Elon Musk under the Trump administration, to streamline the federal workforce and reduce the number of U.S. agencies.
The official acknowledged that some military veterans might be included among those civilians losing their jobs. The exact figure was not specified, though it could potentially number in the thousands.
Three primary strategies are in play to achieve these workforce cuts: encouraging voluntary resignations, terminating probationary employees, and reducing jobs through natural attrition. The senior official noted that a careful review is ongoing to ensure critical national security roles are preserved.
The department did not disclose the number of civilians who sought to take the voluntary resignation plan, humorously dubbed the “Fork in the Road” offer. More employees applied than were approved, though the majority were granted the option. Some applications were declined for reasons related to national security or to prevent mass departures from specific offices.
Hegseth has also empowered military branch secretaries and Defense Department personnel leaders to authorize exemptions to the freeze on hiring. Typically, about 70,000 civilians are hired annually, equating to around 6,000 monthly. Since military branches have considerable discretion over which positions are shielded from the freeze, the exact number of potential job eliminations remains uncertain.
Efforts to cut probationary workers are currently stalled due to legal challenges. The Pentagon initially aimed to lay off approximately 5,400 of the department’s 54,000 probationary workers. However, federal court rulings have mandated the rehiring of thousands due to legal issues surrounding the original mass termination process.
Despite these challenges, Hegseth remains confident that workforce reductions can be managed without detriment to military efficacy. Last month, speaking in Germany, he highlighted plans to welcome the Department of Government Efficiency Service (DOGE) to the Pentagon, noting the necessity of addressing inefficiencies, redundancies, and excessive personnel numbers in headquarters.
More broadly, the federal government is reducing its workforce by about 75,000 employees through a “deferred resignation program” offering buyouts, and 24,000 probationary staff were initially dismissed in large-scale firings across multiple agencies since President Trump assumed office, though this number is contested and under legal review.
In response to personnel changes, senior Democrats on the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees have lodged a Freedom of Information Act request, investigating whether the DOGE Service is operating within lawful federal boundaries, raising concerns regarding compliance with legal standards.
President Donald Trump’s directive for significant workforce reductions aims to diminish the government’s size and scope. However, detailed implications for the Pentagon and specifics on potential cuts have not been disclosed by defense officials.
