Pentagon accelerates civilian cuts as Hegseth sets 11 April deadline for restructuring plans

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has given senior Defense Department officials under two weeks to submit reorganization plans aimed at reducing the department’s massive civilian workforce, as part of what he calls the Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative*.*

In a 28 March 2025 memo, Hegseth ordered agency leaders, combatant commanders, and field activity directors to deliver “future-state organizational charts” by 11 April. Those charts must outline headcount reductions and management consolidations.

While the memo stops short of specifying a numerical target, Hegseth previously stated his intention to cut between 5 and 8 percent of DOD’s 760,000-person civilian workforce. That plan has already triggered a hiring freeze and the rollout of both early retirement and deferred resignation offers—two voluntary exit routes aimed at reducing the need for layoffs.

The memo comes amid mounting tension in the Pentagon workforce. As reported by Defense One, the department’s recent wave of probationary-period firings drew a court rebuke, with a judge ordering 364 employees reinstated. Officials have since admitted those firings were part of a broader White House initiative.

Hegseth now says the goal is to “maximize voluntary participation” in departure programs to avoid further “involuntary actions,” a phrase that may foreshadow formal reductions in force. Still, with attrition already shrinking the workforce by 6,000 a month, DOD’s reorganization is well underway—even as morale falters under pressure.