Around 4,000 Department of Defense (DOD) employees have received termination notices this week as the Trump administration moves forward with plans to downsize the federal government. 

ABC News reported that another 31,000 civilian employees, 3.5% of the total DOD civilian workforce, submitted a resignation request per an Office of Personnel Management email sent to employees.

Some of those requests will be denied because those employees have been exempted, the report states. So far, 11,000 of those who submitted resignations have had their requests accepted. 

A Department of Defense plaque is seen outside the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 6, 2021. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

“DLA released probationary employees consistent with the Department of Defense’s broader efforts to ensure resources are aligned with the department’s strategic objectives,” an agency spokesman told the outlet. 

A Defense Health Agency (DHA) spokesman told Federal News Network that dismissals have been restricted to headquarters positions “that are administrative in nature.”

“DHA is executing OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense] guidance in accordance with the EO [executive order] regarding the dismissal of probationary employees,” the agency said in a statement.

The staff reductions are part of a move by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut costs.