Approximately one-third of the employees the Department of Defense (DOD) will dismiss are voluntarily leaving through the deferred resignation program, a senior U.S. defense official said on Tuesday. 

“More than 20,000, nearing 21,000 of the applications from employees that volunteered to participate in deferred resignation program. So those will actually be achieved over time,” the Defense official said during a media briefing. “We’re in the process of placing those employees that were approved on administrative leave.”

The DOD is aligning its civilian workforce with national security priorities. As part of this effort, the DOD is undertaking a strategic reduction of 5-8% percent of its civilian workforce to direct resources and manpower toward mission-critical functions. 

The figure breaks down to about 50-60,000. Of them, up to 32,000 veterans could lose their DOD civilian jobs.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrives at the Pentagon, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

The seal of the Department of Defense is seen on the podium at the Pentagon, Sept. 27, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Along with the deferred resignation program, the department is removing certain probationary employees and instituting a hiring freeze. Each of the initiatives, directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, is focused on workforce mission criticality to promote lethality, readiness and warfighting.    

“So the department is a steward of the US taxpayers money. We need to be good stewards and accountable for that money and also ensure that we accomplish the mission and have the right focus on the mission,” the official said.