Pentagon is cutting up to 60,000 civilian jobs. About a third of those took voluntary resignations
Source: Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Roughly 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.
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By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Updated 4:34 PM EDT, March 18, 2025
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-doge-civilian-job-cuts-fbcb154fbe9d5904f456aa3655e57c44