Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signs a memorandum aboard an E-4B Nightwatch aircraft while flying over the Pacific Ocean, March 28, 2025. Image: Air Force Senior Airman Madelyn Keech, DOD
By: FEDweek StaffSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has signed a memo driving a broad realignment of the 900,000 defense civilian workforce, including a reopening of the Administration’s recently closed deferred resignation program – only this time limited to defense civilians and administered by the Pentagon.
The memo, “Initiating the Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative,” is addressed to senior Pentagon leadership, combatant commanders, and defense agency and DoD field activity directors and says the department will “realign the size of our civilian workforce and strategically restructure it to supercharge our American warfighters consistent with [Hegseth’s] interim National Defense Strategy guidance.”
“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,” the memo reads, adding that it wants to limit the number of involuntary separations.
The Pentagon has said roughly 21,000 civilians accepted OPM’s deferred resignation offer (a deal to resign with full pay and benefits until Sept. 30) before that program window closed. The memo also calls for offering voluntary early retirement for all eligible DoD civilian employees. DoD says it is working toward an overall reduction of 50,000 – 60,000 civilian personnel.
The memo also directs DoD leadership to draft new organizational charts for senior leadership. A summary of all those charts — which should include functional areas and consolidated management hierarchies with positional titles and counts clearly depicted — is due April 11, DoD said.
In addition to a hiring freeze announced in February, DoD is planning to remove some 5,400 probationary workers that have limited job protections under federal employment law. However, that effort has been put on hold pending a lawsuit challenging mass firings of probationary employees government-wide, that says it has been done without regard to individual performance. Two federal judges have ordered the reinstatement of many thousands of probationary employees fired by the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior, Energy, Defense, and Treasury departments.
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