On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the Pentagon headquarters’ budget will be reduced 20%, meaning layoffs and contract cuts are inevitable. Hagel said that about 200 jobs will be cut from his team, which consists of 2,400 workers. Overall, the layoffs and private company contract cuts will reduce spending by $1 billion between 2014 and 2019.
The new budget plan will begin in 2014, and is necessary to “pare back overhead and streamline headquarters,” Hagel said. “These reductions are only a first step in DoD’s efforts to realign defense spending to meet new fiscal realities and strategic priorities.” However, he added that “difficult but necessary choices remain ahead for the Department on compensation reform, force structure, acquisitions and other major parts of DoD.”
Over the next 10 years, cuts in defense spending will have to total around $500 billion in order to align with the plan set forth by the sequester.
