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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Lois Beckett and agencies

Pentagon lays off 5,400 civilian workers, with tens of thousands more firings due

Man sits down on chair
Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense. Photograph: Oliver Contreras/AFP/Getty Images

The Pentagon announced plans Friday to fire 5-8% of its civilian workforce, starting next week with layoffs of 5,400 probationary workers, a Department of Defense official said in a statement.

The initial civilian layoffs will be followed by a Department of Defense hiring freeze to analyze the military’s personnel needs in compliance with Donald Trump’s political goals, Darin Selnick, the acting under-secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in the statement.

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