The United States Department of Defence has announced plans to reduce its civilian workforce by a minimum of five percent, starting next week. The move is part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing efforts to downsize the federal government payroll.
The Trump administration has already begun terminating thousands of federal employees still within their probationary period, and the Defence Department—the country’s largest employer—will primarily target recently hired staff as part of its cuts.
Darin Selnick, who is currently performing the duties of Under Secretary of Defence for Personnel and Readiness, stated that the department anticipates reducing its civilian staff by between five and eight per cent. The goal, he explained, is to improve efficiency, realign the department’s focus with the president’s priorities, and enhance military readiness.
Selnick further confirmed that approximately 5,400 employees on probation would be dismissed from next week in the first phase of these reductions. Following this, a hiring freeze will be introduced while officials reassess staffing requirements. Given that the Defence Department employs over 900,000 civilians, the planned five per cent reduction could ultimately impact more than 45,000 jobs.
In a video message released the day before the announcement, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth justified the cuts, stating that retaining non-essential employees was not in the public interest.
Hegseth emphasised that the administration would adopt a strategic yet determined approach to restructuring the workforce, ensuring that only the most capable employees advance based on merit.
Additionally, he revealed that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had been granted extensive authority to eliminate policies from the previous administration that were deemed unnecessary.
DOGE’s mandate, according to Hegseth, includes identifying redundant roles and removing elements of the Biden administration’s agenda, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, as well as climate change policies.
Musk, known as the world’s wealthiest individual and a major donor to Trump, has been at the forefront of a sweeping effort to dismiss large numbers of federal employees. His involvement has triggered multiple legal challenges.
Earlier this week, a US judge declined a request to temporarily halt Musk and DOGE from terminating federal staff or accessing agency data. Fourteen Democrat-led states had filed a lawsuit arguing that Musk lacked the legal authority to proceed with the dismissals.
Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled that the plaintiffs had not provided sufficient evidence to prove they would suffer imminent, irreparable harm without a temporary restraining order. Meanwhile, on Thursday, another judge, Christopher Cooper, dismissed a union’s attempt to block the workforce cuts, stating that he did not have the jurisdiction to rule on the matter.
