Hegseth signs memo to realign Pentagon civilian workforce

"The net effect will be a reduction in the number of civilian full-time equivalent positions," the Pentagon said in a statement referring to the memorandum.

Bloomberg adds that in February, the Pentagon announced plans to lay off between 5% and 8% of its civilian workforce. Hegseth, in the meantime, confirmed his determination to join President Donald Trump's campaign to reduce the federal workforce. This move is also part of the federal government's broader efforts to cut spending.

Currently, around 950,000 civilians work at the Pentagon. This suggests that the cuts could affect up to 76,000 people. However, the Friday memorandum did not specify a target percentage for layoffs within the department.

In the published memorandum, Hegseth urges the implementation of a deferred retirement program and offers voluntary retirement options for eligible civilian employees. He also instructed Pentagon leaders to provide him with "a proposed future-state organizational chart" of their departments by April 11.

Earlier, in February, it was revealed that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had instructed the senior leadership of the Pentagon and the United States Armed Forces to develop defense budget plans for the next five years.

In particular, he ordered the preparation of proposed budget cuts of 8% by February 24. These cuts were to align with a memorandum that includes a list of 17 categories the Trump administration intends to focus on. These include operations along the US southern border, modernization of nuclear weapons and missile defense, as well as the procurement of submarines, unilateral strike drones, and other weapon systems.