Pentagon Expects to Fire Up to 8% of Its Civilian Workforce

The Pentagon expects to fire between 5 and 8% of its civilian workforce, with the first round of layoffs targeting 5,400 probationary workers starting next week, according to a Defense Department statement.

The dismissals are meant to “produce efficiencies and refocus the department on the president’s priorities and restoring readiness in the force,” Darin Selnick, acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in the statement.

The Pentagon will then impose a hiring freeze while it reviews personnel needs. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a video to X on Thursday confirming his determination to join President Donald Trump’s campaign to slash the federal workforce.

“This reevaluation of probationary employees is being done across the government, not just at the Defense Department,” Hegseth said. “Bottom line, it’s simply not in the public interest to retain individuals whose contributions are not mission critical.”

The Pentagon currently employs about 950,000 civilians. An 8% cut would total about 76,000 people, but department officials have told lawmakers they’re looking for staff cuts among 55,000 probationary workers, as Trump seeks to whittle down the federal workforce, according to three people familiar with the interactions.

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It’s as yet unclear how many would receive exemptions, and lawmakers have requested additional data on the probationary employees, according to one of the people, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private communications.

Probationary employees in the federal government include those are new to their jobs, as well as longer-term employees who have shifted to new positions.

Hegseth has said previously that he welcomes the opportunity to reduce “fat” and trim redundant positions, particularly at headquarters.

“When you look at headcount, we’re going to be thoughtful, but we’re also going to be aggressive up and down the chain to find the places where we can ensure the best and brightest are promoted based on merit,” he said Thursday.

Still, Representative Adam Smith of Washington state, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, in a statement Thursday said “the lack of strategy” in the termination process “has further been made apparent by Secretary Hegseth’s and OPM’s” review “of a list of almost 55,000 probationary DoD employees to fire.” He referred to the US Office of Personnel Management.

Stephen Feinberg, the president’s nominee for deputy defense secretary, is likely to face extensive questioning on the personnel review Tuesday during his Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing.

To contact the reporters on this story:
Courtney McBride in Washington at cmcbride47@bloomberg.net;
Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net;
Roxana Tiron (BGOV) in Washington at rtiron@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Nick Wadhams at nwadhams@bloomberg.net

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