The US Defense Department is letting go around 60,000 civilian employees through voluntary workforce reduction. It is reported that 21,000 have already opted for voluntary retirement and are readying to leave in the next few months.
As part of the administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce, the Pentagon is now looking to reduce the defense workforce by five to eight per cent. That means at least five per cent of the more than nine lakh-strong civilian workforce will have to go. About 6,000 roles will be reduced every month by not hiring new workers to replace the ones who leave. In addition to freezing new hiring, employees on probation will also be eliminated if they have been in service for less than a year or two. Some military veterans may also be affected by the civilian job cuts although the exact number is not known.
Voluntary reductions are being resorted to in order to get rid of jobs amidst the courts putting a stop to government terminations in many departments.
It is reported that these reductions in the defense space will not affect the military situation in any way or risk the security of the nation. The objective of these cuts is to ensure that resources are invested in the right areas. Officials at the Pentagon are carefully looking at each case so that no critical roles are eliminated.
