The Defense Department said Friday that it’s cutting 5,400 probationary workers starting next week and will put a hiring freeze in place. KTLA 5's Jennifer McGraw reports. (Feb. 22, 2025)

The Pentagon said on Friday it would start firing about 5,400 civilian employees who were on probation, the first moves by President Donald Trump's administration at the department to make good on its promise to reduce the federal workforce.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Pentagon to come up with plans to cut 8% from the defense budget in each of the next five years, sources familiar with his plans told CBS News.

The Department of Defense expects to lay off more than 5,000 probationary employees starting next week, as the department complies with the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce.

The first firings of Defense Department civilian probationary employees are expected to start next week, with about 5,400 set to be released as the Pentagon anticipates reducing its civilian workforce by 5-8%.

In a new online survey, more than 60% of Federal News Network readers who responded say they plan to stay in their jobs despite all the chaos that’s happening.

The Pentagon announced Friday it plans to ultimately fire five to eight percent of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees, with an initial tranche of 5,400 probationary workers who don’t have “mission-critical” roles expected to be terminated next week.