WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Defense reduced its civilian workforce by 82,940 employees between December 2024 and January 2026. This resulted in a 10.7% decrease in the total civilian workforce, from 778,188 employees to 695,248.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a strategic reduction of 5-8% of Department of Defense civilian personnel in February 2025. The Department of Defense implemented a Deferred Resignation Program to accelerate voluntary resignations and retirements among civilian staff.

During the second half of 2025, 59% of Department of Defense personnel who separated accepted a Deferred Resignation Program offer. A total of 46,285 Department of Defense employees accepted such an offer during that period.

Dawn Locke, the director of the Government Accountability Office's Strategic Issues team, addressed the program. "A key takeaway for DOD is the role the Deferred Resignation Program played in the agency's efforts to reduce the size of its civilian workforce," Locke said.

The rate of acceptance for the Deferred Resignation Program at the Department of Defense was higher than the governmentwide total. She stated, "This is much higher than the governmentwide total of 34 percent." Approximately 129,000 employees separated from the federal government under a Deferred Resignation Program during 2025.

The overall decline in the civilian workforce across 22 federal agencies involved approximately 378,000 employee departures, 127,000 hires, and shifts between active and nonpay status. In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, the Technical occupational group accounted for 43.6% of employees who separated from the Department of Defense. More than 24,000 Department of Defense employees in the Technical occupational group separated in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Locke explained that positions in this group can include computer operators, dental assistants, nursing assistants, and data entry specialists.