Pentagon to reduce civilian workforce by at least 5%

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Feb 2025 08:47

With the Defense Department employing over 900,000 civilians, a five percent reduction would affect more than 45,000 jobs.

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The Department of Defense logo is seen on the wall in the Press Briefing room at the Pentagon, Oct. 29, 2024, in Washington (AP, File)

The US Defense Department will reduce its civilian workforce by at least five percent starting next week, the Pentagon announced Friday, as President Donald Trump continues efforts to shrink the government payroll.

The Trump administration has already begun dismissing thousands of federal employees on probationary status, and the cuts at the Defense Department—the nation’s largest employer—will primarily target recently hired workers.

"We anticipate reducing the department's civilian workforce by 5-8 percent to produce efficiencies and refocus the department on the president's priorities and restoring readiness in the force," indicated Darin Selnick, who is performing the duties of the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness.

"We expect approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be released beginning next week as part of this initial effort, after which we will implement a hiring freeze while we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs," he added.

With the Defense Department employing over 900,000 civilians, a five percent reduction would affect more than 45,000 jobs.

A day before the announcement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated in a video message that retaining individuals who do not play a critical role in the department’s mission is not in the public interest.

"Common sense would tell us where we should start, right -- we start with poor performers amongst our probationary employees," he indicated.

Hegseth pointed out that “when reviewing headcount, we will be both strategic and assertive, ensuring that the most talented individuals are promoted based on merit.”

He also confirmed that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would have "broad" authority to eliminate initiatives from the previous administration within the Pentagon.

According to the Pentagon chief, DOGE will work to "find the redundancies and identify the last vestiges of Biden priorities -- the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), the woke, the climate change BS -- that's not core to our mission, and we're going to get rid of it all."

Musk—the world’s richest person and Trump’s largest donor—has spearheaded efforts to downsize the federal workforce, prompting multiple legal challenges.

On Tuesday, a US judge declined to temporarily block Musk and DOGE from terminating federal employees and accessing agency data, following a lawsuit by 14 Democratic-led states challenging the billionaire’s legal authority.

Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the plaintiffs had not sufficiently demonstrated they would suffer “imminent, irreparable" harm without a temporary restraining order.

Then, on Thursday, Judge Christopher Cooper rejected a union request to halt the dismissals of federal employees, stating that he lacked jurisdiction over the case.