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Updated: March 29, 3:47 p.m. ET.
Senior leaders within the Department of Defense (DOD) are facing a tight deadline, with less than two weeks to present proposals aimed at streamlining and restructuring their commands, agencies, and departments. This directive comes from Secretary Pete Hegseth, who issued a memo on Friday that also introduces early retirement and deferred resignation options for qualifying civilian employees.
The memo dated March 28 marks a significant step in Hegseth’s aggressive initiative to downsize the civilian workforce at the DOD. When he assumed his position in January, the department housed approximately 760,000 civilian workers, a number that officials revealed plans to reduce by five to eight percent shortly thereafter.
Titled “Initiating the Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative,” the memo requires senior Pentagon leaders and directors from combatant commands and DOD field activities to provide a proposed “future-state organizational chart” to the Pentagon’s personnel undersecretary. This requirement is outlined in a press release from the DOD dated March 29.
According to the release, “A summary of all those charts — including functional areas and consolidated management hierarchies with positional titles and counts clearly depicted — is due from USD(P&R) to the defense secretary no later than April 11, 2025.”
In his communication, Hegseth emphasized the need to eliminate redundancy and overregulation through “an honest analysis of the workforce” and advocated for leveraging “automation through technological solutions, particularly at the headquarters level.” He expressed a desire to “maximize” voluntary retirements while aiming to reduce the need for involuntary separations. Notably, the memo does not specify numerical targets for potential job cuts.
This reduction in civilian positions is part of a broader initiative to strategically reshape the workforce, aligning it more closely with the interim National Defense Strategy aims, as suggested in the press release.
Retirement Options
The memo outlines two distinct retirement packages available to eligible civilian personnel. The first allows for early retirement for federal employees with a minimum of 25 years of service, or 20 years for those aged over 50. This option has been offered by several federal agencies since the White House greenlit it in January.
The second package is a reintroduction of the deferred resignation option, which permits employees to cease work while receiving full pay and benefits until September 30. The DOD is now implementing this offering itself, following its initial availability to most federal workers earlier this year.
Officials indicate that over 20,000 defense civilians accepted the previous retirement offer, though some employees have reported challenges in the application process. Concerns have been raised regarding the Department of Defense’s handling of requests, with individuals claiming that supervisors deemed them essential and thus blocked their applications.
Hegseth noted in the recent memo that “exemptions should be rare” and that the intention is to facilitate greater participation in these retirement options, thereby lessening the number of involuntary layoffs necessary for achieving strategic goals.
The reference to “involuntary actions” may allude to a range of scenarios. Some employees were terminated during their probationary periods earlier this year, a move initially attributed to Hegseth’s direction but later revealed to be part of a broader mandate from the White House. A judge recently ordered the reinstatement of many of these employees, stating that their dismissals were baseless.
Further, the concept of involuntary actions encompasses the prospect of layoffs, following a White House directive to federal agencies to submit plans for worker reductions aimed at compliance with a broader reshaping of government employment.
Concurrently, a hiring freeze implemented by Hegseth is contributing to an ongoing reduction in the defense workforce, with estimates suggesting a decrease of approximately 6,000 personnel per month.
Hegseth’s stated goal of minimizing involuntary separations might reflect responses to employee concerns about morale and productivity amidst these significant changes. Reports from DOD staff have indicated feelings of disruption and anxiety as employees navigate the ramifications of these policies.
In a previous statement, Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot asserted that the department intends to treat its workforce with dignity and respect while undertaking necessary adjustments to meet presidential priorities.
Regarding inquiries about the specifics of the recent memo and the intentions behind minimizing involuntary actions, a DOD spokesperson stated that the memo would be made publicly accessible eventually.
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