Updated: Feb. 21, 11:16 a.m. ET.
The Defense Department is preparing for mass firings of civilian employees, according to several current employees and internal communications, bringing the Trump administration’s federal-workforce-reduction efforts to the government’s largest agency. The dismissals were expected to begin as soon as Friday, according to multiple employees informed of the plans.
[On Friday, CNN reported that Pentagon leaders had put the firings on hold because they had not performed an analysis of the cuts’ likely effect on lethality and readiness, as required by law.]
In a video posted to social media late on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the department was doing a “reevaluation of our probationary workforce” in compliance with the Office of Personnel Management’s Jan. 20 directive.
Hegseth added that this would be just the start of a “really thorough look at our workforce top to bottom, and it will be top to bottom, to see where we can find and eliminate redundancies. Now common sense would tell us where we should start, right? We start with poor performers amongst our probationary employees because that is common sense and you want the best and brightest.”
The secretary also said that he would soon impose a department-wide hiring freeze and “take more time to identify, on a performance-based standard, who we’re going to hire, and reward hardworking employees who are central to the core warfighting mission. So we’re going to take a little bit more time, make sure top to bottom we’re doing a review, those who we need, who are the best and brightest are going to stay. Those who are underperformers won’t.”
He gave no timeframe for these moves. He also did not say how they might comport with laws that give hiring preference to veterans and offer broad protections to career federal employees.
After the department was largely exempted from President Trump’s federal hiring freeze, much of its civilian workforce had expected it would again be carved out from the mandate to fire probationary employees—generally speaking, that means workers hired or promoted within the past year. The administration gave word this week, however, that it expected the Pentagon to cut its own workforce.
On Thursday, commands and agencies across Defense continued to compile lists of probationary employees, including ones that are to be exempted from firing. Some employees have been told to expect few exemptions within their commands or teams, while others reported their leaders were pushing for more.
A warning email
Members of the White House’s DOGE office made their first Pentagon visit last Friday, according to a social-media post. That same day, an official in the Pentagon’s policy shop sent a warning email to staff.
“The news on probationary employees is very concerning – to the individuals, their offices, and our organization overall,” the official wrote. “If someone in Policy is in a probationary status, it’s because Policy went through a great deal of effort to bring them onboard to fill critical roles in our support to the Secretary of Defense, and those individuals are making important contributions to our mission.”
Probationary employees are an easy target for staff reductions, as it becomes much harder to fire a federal employee without substantial cause once they have completed their first year of service.
Orders to get moving
The situation developed rapidly this week and supervisors, employees and human resources staff scrambled to share pertinent information.
One Defense Information Systems Agency employee said their leadership team was notified Monday evening that they must move ahead with identifying and, eventually, firing probationary employees. DISA leaders were seeking to “limit the damage” by exempting at least some employees based on mission needs, but no final decisions had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, the employee said.
On Wednesday, leaders of a component of the Air Force Material Command told employees that they were working with the Air Force to “clarify who specifically by-name might be affected and to ensure we thoughtfully implement any direction that formalizes.”
“Currently, we have no specific details about which positions might be affected, the timeline, or means for any potential actions,” the leadership team said in a message to staff.
The message said that employees should update and save their resumes, download their performance reviews, and retain copies of their personal records and certifications. Employees were also advised to save their supervisors’ contact information.
“We understand this news is concerning,” the message said. “We are committed to keeping you informed and providing support throughout this process.”
Army commands have received the same guidance, according to a source who spoke with Defense One. Another source said Space Force organizations were told to submit their lists on Wednesday afternoon.
On Thursday, Army Medical Command leaders told their staff via an email that they could be affected, although the command’s leaders “have not yet received specific details regarding how this will be implemented.”
“Thank you for your professionalism and unwavering commitment to Army Medicine,” the email said. “As we navigate these changes together, we will continue to share updates as soon as they become available.”
An Army Medical Command employee who provides care to active-duty personnel, dependents, and retirees said their name was included in a list of probationary employees sent up the chain of command. Initially, the employee had been told their position was safe from cuts, but “the mood has definitely shifted and all of that ‘no way it’ll happen to you’ is gone now.”
One Navy employee who joined their command’s all-hands meeting on Thursday said they were told to expect the termination notices to hit inboxes as soon as that evening. Another Navy civilian was told in a similar all-hands meeting that firings would commence Friday morning.
“HR has been telling us to download all of our documents and prepare to be terminated,” the second Navy employee said.
On one Air Force command-wide call, a lieutenant general broke down crying as she relayed the news about upcoming firings, according to an employee present on the call. That employee was told by management the firings would “come hard and fast,” and in a matter of days rather than a week.
Elsewhere, leaders of a Navy agency, the name of which Defense One is withholding to protect against reprisals, sent their staff a message in which they said they were reviewing a list of 700 probationary employees and had 29 categories for exemptions, including veterans, military spouses, and members of other favored hiring groups.
“I want to ensure you that we are working with the highest levels of Navy leadership to ensure [we retain] the largest number possible of our talented people,” the message reads. “While we wait for further guidance, let’s please all do our best to support each other during this challenging time.”
As employees reported that morale has tanked as a result of the news this week, leaders attempted to reassure employees of their value.
“Please know that your contributions are invaluable, and our mission remains critical,” the Army Medical Command leaders said in their email. “We are truly grateful for your dedication, resilience, and continued service.”
One DOD civilian told Defense One that employees are cleaning out their workspaces in anticipation of firing, having heard from other federal agencies that fired employees were not given time to gather their belongings.
The White House has released no comprehensive tally of workers fired. So far, as many as 10,000 have been fired at the Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and other departments, as well as at the Environmental Protection Agency, OPM, and DOGE—formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service—itself.
OPM data shows that the federal government hired more than 200,000 employees over the past year.
Audrey Decker and Bradley Peniston contributed to this report.
Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this report mischaracterized the system of exemptions. There are 29 categories.
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