Pentagon failed to assess impact of cuts to civilian workforce, watchdog finds
BLUF – The article reports that a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) review found the Pentagon eliminated about 78,000 civilian positions in 2025—roughly 10% of its civilian workforce—without consistently analyzing the effects on readiness, workload, costs, or mission performance as required by law. The GAO found that while some organizations reported efficiencies and savings, others experienced increased workloads, loss of institutional knowledge, maintenance delays, and workforce instability, and the department has no formal plan to assess lessons learned from the reductions. The Pentagon agreed with the GAO’s recommendation to develop such a plan, but had not provided a timeline for doing so.
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