Washington
50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs are being cut in the US Department of Defense (Pentagon). In this deduction process, around 21,000 employees have so far accepted the voluntary resignation plan, which is about one third of the total target deduction. A senior defense officer gave this information on Tuesday. The Defense Department aims to cut 5% to 8% out of more than 900,000 civilian employees. For this, about 6,000 posts will be removed each month. In addition, the replacement of employees who retired regularly or leave jobs will not be filled.
This deduction is being implemented under the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, which aims to reduce the budget of the department and reduce government spending. The scheme is known as the “Fork in the Road” proposal and gives employees the option to quit a voluntary job with salary and benefits by September.
The burden may increase on military personnel
Officials are concerned that military personnel can be deployed to fill the vacant civil posts, affecting their functionality. However, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth has given instructions to ensure that these deductions do not adversely affect military preparations. These deductions are being done under the ‘Department of Government Efficiency Service’ (DOGE) of the Trump administration and billionaire businessman Alan Musk, which aims to reduce the federal task force and reorganize government agencies.
The Defense Department is reducing the number of employees in three major methods:
Voluntary resignation – Under the “Fork in the Road” scheme, some employees voluntarily resigned, but not all were allowed.
Dismissal of probationary employees – The department had planned to be trimmed by about 5,400 probationary employees, but it was challenged in court.
Ban on appointment of new employees – About 70,000 civilians are recruited every year, but this process is being limited.
The courts have stayed the probationary staff retrenchment and ordered the administration to hire thousands of employees. Courts have found flaws in the legal processes of trimmed.
Hegseth, head of the defense department, says that these deductions will not affect military functioning. In Germany recently, he said that “the headquarters has many unnecessary positions and administrative expenses, which need to be removed.”
Large scale pruning in the federal government
Not only the Defense Department, but in the entire American federal system, about 75,000 employees are being removed under the ‘DF Ragnetion Program’. In addition, 24,000 probationary employees were removed in the early stages, but it also faced legal challenges.
Meanwhile, Democratic MPs in the US Congress have expressed concern over large -scale cuttings in the central bureaucracy. The House Judiciary and the House Oversite Committee have sought information from the administration about the legal aspects of these deductions from the administration.
President Donald Trump has ordered the implementation of the ‘Reduction in Force’ (RIF) scheme on a large scale to reduce the government size and cut jobs. However, no clear information has been given in the Pentagon about its effects.
US Defense Minister Hegseth removed top military officers
A few days ago, US Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said that he had removed top officials for military service as he feels that he was not “qualified” for this work. Prior to a meeting with the Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia, Hegseth refused to answer the question asking him why President Donald Trump’s administration selected a retired general as the next joint chief president, while he does not fulfill the legal qualification for the task. President Donald Trump suddenly fired the Chairman, Air Force General CQ Brown Junior on Friday and Hegseth then removed the Navy Operations Navy Admiral Lisa Frenchti, Air Force Vice President Air Force General James Sliff.