Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth set a goal in February for the Defense Department: shed 5 to 8 percent of the civilian workforce, or roughly 60,000 employees. To accomplish that goal, the Pentagon first instituted a hiring freeze and attempted to lay off hundreds of probationary employees. Then it offered a deferred resignation program that allowed employees to quit working but still be paid through September, while offering early retirement to longtime employees.
Now, the defense secretary’s office refuses to say how much the workforce has shrunk this year, as it moves forward with a comprehensive review aimed at further slashing numbers of civilian employees.
“Certain near-term changes in workforce structure, composition, and workforce will be reflected in the department’s forthcoming President’s Budget request for FY26,” a defense official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, told Defense One.
The official declined to say how many people had been approved for the deferred resignation program or voluntary early retirement.
The White House released its full budget proposal Friday, but documents do not contain any specific proposals for changes to the Pentagon’s civilian workforce which stood at about 770,000 as of September.
According to that document, the White House plans to release a more detailed defense budget this month, meaning that if the comprehensive review is to inform this year’s budget, the administration has days—a few weeks, at most—to approve and incorporate ideas into its imminent release.
Hegseth solicited two rounds of suggestions from the military components. The first was published March 28, giving leaders two weeks to draft proposals on how to best shrink their organizations. He dubbed the effort “the Workforce Acceleration & Recapitalization Initiative.”
“This is not about a target number of layoffs at the DoD,” he wrote in the memo. “The intent is to execute a top-to-bottom methodology that results in a force structure that is lean, mean, and prepared to win.”
A second memo followed on April 7, ordering the components to refine their initial proposals based on two pages of guidelines, and urging consolidation, flattening of hierarchies, and speed.
It also offered specific examples, including if mid-level managers are only overseeing a few people, their positions should be considered for downgrade or consolidation with another team.
“If a non-research program office has not deployed a new and meaningful capability in the last five years, its functions should be absorbed or shut down,” the memo offered as another example.
All suggestions were received by the May 24 deadline, the defense official confirmed.
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