Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is renewing plans to shrink the Department of Defense’s (DoD) civilian workforce, including reopening of the agency’s early retirement program.
In a recent memo, Hegseth directed department leaders to submit a “proposed future-state organizational chart” aimed at realigning the size of the DoD’s civilian workforce and strategically restructuring it to “meet future needs,” according to a DoD statement.
Department leaders have been given a tight deadline, with plans due to the secretary by April 11. According to the memo, the plans should include a detailed breakdown of functional areas, along with consolidated management hierarchies, clearly outlining positional titles and headcounts.
“The intent is to execute a top-to-bottom methodology that results in a force structure that is lean, mean, and prepared to win,” Hegseth wrote.
This “realignment,” Hegseth explained, is necessary to “reveal opportunities to consolidate duplicative functions, reject excessive bureaucracy, and implement technological solutions that automate routine tasks, particularly at the headquarters level,” he wrote.
“The net effect will be a reduction in the number of civilian full-time equivalent positions, and increased resources in the areas where we need them most,” he wrote.
Additionally, Hegseth has instructed the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness to immediately reimplement the department’s Deferred Resignation Program (DRP) and extend the offer of voluntary early retirement to all eligible DoD civilian employees.
The DRP, first implemented by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Jan. 28, 2025, provided most full-time Federal employees – including DoD’s nearly 900,000 civilian workforce – with a limited opportunity to resign with full pay and benefits until Sept. 30, 2025.
In the initial offer, nearly 21,000 civilian employees at DoD accepted the DRP offer. This time around, Hegseth wrote, the DRP and early retirement program are being reopened for nearly all DoD civilians, but now under the authority of the Pentagon rather than OPM.
“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,” Hegseth wrote.
Overall, DoD aims to reduce its civilian workforce by five to eight percent, in line with the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency workforce optimization efforts to shrink the Federal workforce. This would cut 50,000 to 60,000 positions from the department’s nearly 900,000 civilian employees.
Hegseth explained he is advocating for more voluntary reductions to the DoD civilian workforce to reach the Pentagon’s target goal and avoid relying on forced layoffs – a measure that is currently under litigation.
Back in February, the DoD laid off 5,400 probationary civilian workers to meet its workforce reduction goal. However, a Federal judge in Maryland temporarily blocked the Pentagon’s plan, ordering the employees to be placed on paid administrative leave, while a California judge ruled for their reinstatement. The Trump administration is appealing both decisions.
Due to the ongoing litigation, DoD officials have stated that the department cannot comment on the planned layoffs but emphasized that the employees were targeted for performance-related issues.