US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has signed a memorandum aimed at shrinking the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce.
This was disclosed in a memo released on Friday.
According to the memo, the reduction in civilian positions will increase resources to areas “where we need them most,” and help “supercharge our American warfighters”.
It added that the move reactivated the deferred resignation program and offered voluntary early retirement for all eligible employees.
“Exemptions should be rare,” Hegseth said in the memo.
“My intent is to maximize participation so that we can minimize the number of involuntary actions that may be required to achieve the strategic objectives.”
In January, employees were previously offered buyouts and early resignations as part of a program.
The memo, however, did not specify the number of civilian positions to be cut, but the department announced in February it planned to ultimately let go 5 to 8 per cent of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees.