In the United States, the Pentagon is planning to lay off 5% to 8% of its civilian employees. Initially, 5,400 employees will be let go. A broader layoff plan will be considered in the future. The U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) announced its intention to lay off 5% to 8% of its civilian employees. According to CNN, Darin Selnick, the Under Secretary responsible for personnel matters and readiness, made a statement regarding the expected layoffs as part of cost-saving measures within the institution. Selnick noted that there are approximately 950,000 civilian employees at the Pentagon, and 5% to 8% will be let go to enhance efficiency and refocus on the readiness of forces for combat. Initially, they expect 5,400 employees in non-critical roles or on a trial basis to be laid off during the week, and after a further assessment of personnel needs, more civilian employees might lose their jobs. Selnick stated, “As Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has made clear, retaining individuals who do not contribute significantly is not in the public interest. Taxpayers deserve us to thoroughly review our workforce to identify where we can eliminate redundancies.” Unnamed officials from the Pentagon speaking to CNN mentioned efforts to compile lists of individual employees who should be exempt from layoffs due to their crucial support for ongoing missions in critical national security roles such as cybersecurity, intelligence, operations, and foreign military sales throughout the past week. It was reported that the Pentagon decided to halt its plan to lay off thousands of civilian employees as it further evaluates the implications on the U.S. military under the framework of cost-saving measures.