Pentagon consistently failed to analyze the impacts of civilian workforce reductions
Pentagon consistently failed to analyze the impacts of civilian workforce reductions  
Podcast: The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton
Published On: Wed Jul 08 2026
Description: The Defense Department significantly reduced the size of its civilian workforce in 2025. The department however, started shedding its employees prior to 2025. A government watchdog found that the Pentagon didn’t consistently analyze the impacts of these reductions, either during the 2025 downsizing or in prior years. It also found that the Pentagon has no plan to assess lessons learned from its 2025 workforce reduction efforts. For more, Federal News Network’s Anastasia Obis spoke with Government Accountability Office’s director of defense capabilities and management Kristy Williams.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.