Topline
The Department of Defense is preparing to cut between 50,000 and 60,000 civilian jobs, a senior defense official said Tuesday, according to the Associated Press—news that comes weeks after Pentagon leadership
said it would aim to cut between 5% and 8% of its civilian workforce as part of a sweeping federal government staffing reduction. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, left, and his wife Jennifer Rauchet arrive before President Donald
... [+] Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Key Facts
It was not immediately clear when the cuts would be made, but the defense official—who spoke anonymously—reportedly said the department will aim to cut about 6,000 positions monthly by not hiring to replace workers who routinely leave. The positions being eliminated include workers who voluntarily resigned earlier this year and will be leaving in the coming months, the AP reported, with the defense official saying fewer than 21,000 workers voluntarily resigned. The cuts come as a number of other departments have been slashing their workforces under the guidance of the Department of Government Efficiency and Elon Musk, which have been working to
decrease government spending . Late last month, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
said in a memo obtained by The Washington Post that the DoD’s budget would “resource the fighting force we need, cease unnecessary defense spending, reject excessive bureaucracy, and drive actionable reform including progress on the audit.” Forbes has reached out to the Department of Defense for comment on the reported cuts.
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More than 900,000. That’s how many employees are part of the DoD’s civilian workforce, according to the AP. To cut between 5% and 8% of that, the Pentagon will have to cut between 45,000 and 72,000 people.
Tangent
On March 4, the DoD released an
article reviewing “some of the initial findings” of DOGE within the Defense Department. The post said there was “some $80 million in funds wasted on programs that do not support DOD's core mission.” The highlighted cuts included $1.9 million for holistic diversity, equity and inclusion transformation and training, $6 million given to the University of Montana for “bridging divides” and $3.5 million to support diversity and equity groups from the Defense Human Resources Activity.
Key Background
DOGE has spearheaded staffing and budget cuts throughout the federal government since President Donald Trump took office in late January, though historically the DoD has not faced significant cuts to its budget often. In the memo obtained by
The Post in February, Hegseth reportedly directed leaders to make plans to reduce the budget by 8% annually for the next five years—though it included 17 categories the Trump administration wanted to be exempt from cuts, including operations at the southern border, modernizing nuclear weapons and acquiring one-way attack drones. Other federal agencies that have faced
mass layoffs since Trump took office include the Department of Education, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
What Has Hegseth Said About Doge?
Hegseth has not publicly weighed in on Tuesday’s reports of civilian staff reductions as of 3 p.m. EDT, but he said in early February he would “welcome” Musk and DOGE to the Pentagon to improve efficiency. He
told reporters at the time the Defense Department would work “in coordination” with DOGE and would not “do things that are to the detriment of American operational or tactical capabilities.”
Further Reading
