US army may face force reduction by up to 90,000 active-duty soldiers: Report
At least six US federal government agencies are offering their employees a new “deferred resignation” opportunity
The US Department of Defence is considering a sweeping troop reduction of nearly 90,000 active-duty soldiers from the Army due to mounting financial pressure, military.com reported on Friday, citing three officials familiar with the matter.
The report said internal discussions are exploring reducing the force size to between 3,60,000 and 4,20,000 personnel, down from the current strength of roughly 4,50,00 personnel. It is unclear whether the discussions concern the Army Reserve or the National Guard.
According to the report, the discussion comes as the US footprint shrinks in the Middle East and Africa while seeking to expand its presence across the Indo-Pacific to counter Beijing's rise.
Following the DOGE-led crackdown on federal government expenditures to cut “waste,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Pentagon to formulate plans to cut its near-trillion-dollar budget by 8%. The Trump administration is also cracking down on “woke” policies and gender-sensitive programs within the armed forces.
At least six US federal government agencies are offering their employees a new “deferred resignation” opportunity even as the Trump administration began implementing a mass layoff programme led by Elon Musk-led DOGE.
In a brief memo, Hegseth had offered a “voluntary early retirement” offer to the employees but warned that “exemptions should be rare.” A senior defence official said that roughly 50,000 to 60,000 civilian jobs would be cut to reach the goal of a 5% to 8% cut in the Pentagon's workforce.
The department is also hit by Hegseth's accidental leak of Yemen attack plans by adding the editor of The Atlantic magazine to a secretive group chat comprising US officials on the commercial Signal app.
The Pentagon Inspector General Steven Stebbins's office will investigate Hegseth's use of the app and evaluate the extent to which Hegseth and other defence personnel complied with “policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business.”
The investigation was requested by the top two members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, a Republican and a Democrat.
(With agency inputs)
