Media Colleagues,
Senior Defense officials will hold an off-camera, on-background press briefing today, March 18, 2025, at 12:30 p.m. EDT via Zoom.
Officials will discuss how the Department is aligning its civilian workforce with national security priorities. As part of this effort, the Department is undertaking a strategic reduction of 5-8 percent of its civilian workforce to direct resources and manpower toward mission-critical functions. The Department is focused on various initiatives to achieve that reduction including offering the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), removing certain probationary employees, and instituting a hiring freeze. Each of these initiatives, directed by the Secretary, are focused on workforce mission criticality to promote lethality, readiness, and warfighting.