The US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed a memorandum that provides for the reduction of civilian personnel at the Pentagon — tens of thousands of employees could be laid off.
Bloomberg writes about this.
In February, the Defense Department announced plans to lay off 5% to 8% of its civilian staff, and Hegset reiterated his determination to join the US President Donald Trumpʼs campaign to reduce the federal workforce. The Pentagon currently employs about 950 000 civilians, meaning the cuts could affect about 76 000 people.
At the same time, the memorandum does not specify a target percentage of cuts in the department. In the document, Hegset calls for the introduction of a deferred retirement program, as well as voluntary early retirement for eligible civilian employees.
He also asked Defense Department leaders to provide him with a "proposed organizational chart for the future state" of their departments by April 11.
- After Donald Trump became president of the United States, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was launched in Washington, D.C., under the leadership of billionaire Elon Musk. This structure is supposed to increase the efficiency of the American government in a year and a half.
- As part of the governmentʼs spending cuts, the US government has, among other things, suspended aid programs to other countries, offered federal officials the opportunity to resign and receive compensation. The US also decided to liquidate the Department of Education, and the US Central Intelligence Agency began laying off recently hired employees.
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