The DOD’s tech agency braces for 10% workforce cut

The Pentagon’s IT company will lose practically 10 % of its whole workers as a part of the Trump administration’s push to slash the federal workforce, the company’s director advised senators Wednesday. However the workforce discount might have its upsides.

“It is giving us a possibility to ruthlessly realign and optimize how we’re addressing what’s an evolving mission,” Lt. Gen. Paul Stanton, director of the Protection Data Methods Company, mentioned throughout a Senate Armed Providers Committee listening to Wednesday. 

The company has about 20,000 staff—simply over half are contractors, roughly 6,800 are civilians, and 1,200 are active-duty army.

The cuts might assist higher match staff with roles for which they’re higher suited, Stanton mentioned. 

“Issues just like the multi-partner surroundings and initiatives like DoDNet are driving our workforce to carry out roles that they hadn’t beforehand,” he mentioned. “And so we’re doing a realignment, and we’re going again to the division to ask for what we check with as a surgical rehiring. We have to rent the fitting folks again into the fitting positions to then lead us ahead.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., mentioned whereas effectivity is essential, workforce cuts can have long-term ramifications. 

“We perceive we wish to streamline, do issues higher—we’ll do issues higher with computing, for certain. However that may have an effect on each our future, recruitment, retention, morale, which is essential to sustaining our readiness and making ready for the longer term,” Rosen mentioned, including that working within the non-public sector usually pays extra. 

Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth just lately cancelled a number of IT consulting contracts, together with one for assist desk companies much like the one DISA gives. Stanton mentioned the company already evaluations contracts to maintain tempo with present applied sciences. 

“Our contracts are aligned to the extremely technical IT and cybersecurity workforce. They are not consulting contracts. These are people which can be placing palms on keyboards, which can be operating fiber optic cables, which can be performing server upkeep in a world footprint, and our contracts are wholesome and are in a great spot,” Stanton mentioned. “The impetus and drive from the division is, nonetheless, forcing our business companions to judge how they’re presenting their technical drive to us, and we’re gaining some efficiencies within the course of.”