​​​​​​​ISTANBUL

The Pentagon wants to decrease its civilian workforce by as many as 60,000 employees through voluntary reductions.

But it is reportedly uncertain whether the goal can be achieved without the potential need for involuntary workforce cuts.

The Defense Department is currently undertaking a voluntary process to achieve a 5% - 8% reduction of its 878,000 civilians in its workforce, which translates to around 50,000 to 60,000 employees, according to a senior defense official who spoke with reporters Tuesday, as reported by ABC News.

"The number sounds high, but I would focus on the percentage, a 5% to 8% reduction is not a drastic one," the official stated, adding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth "is confident (it) can be done without negatively impacting readiness in order to make sure that our resources are allocated in the right direction."

The voluntary process involves employees resigning through the "Fork in the Road," hiring freeze, and the dismissal of 5,400 probationary workers with less than one or two years of experience.

Around 21,000 civilian employees have had their resignation requests approved under the Deferred Resignation Program (DRP), which lets them resign but continue to receive pay until the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

The senior official did not reveal the number of employees who opted for the DRP.

The official explained that the 5,400 employees "were documented as significantly underperforming in their job functions and or had misconduct on the record." It is unclear if all of them fit the criteria. "The fact that someone was a probationary employee did not directly mean that they were going to be subject to removal," the official added.

The official declined to reveal what "reduction in force" measures the Pentagon might take if the voluntary efforts do not meet the 50,000 to 60,000 employee reduction target.

"I won't get ahead of the secretary," the official said. "It'll be the secretary's prerogative to designate how and when he might use any of the other tools that would be available to him to achieve the stated reduction targets."

"We are confident we could absorb those removals without detriment to our ability to continue the mission," the official stated.