The Department of Defense is prepared to cut nearly 12,000 jobs next year according to Defense Comptroller Robert Hale. The cuts will come as the first of 40,000-50,000 job cuts scheduled to take effect over the next five years.
According to a recent report from the Federal Times, the Department plans to offer early retirement to some and conduct reductions in force (RIF) at other locations. Few specifics have been given to date, but some in Washington have suggested that another round of base realignment and closure (BRAC) could be coming as soon as 2015.
“These cuts will do more than undermine our national defense – they’ll undermine the economic security of communities all across America,” said NFFE National President William R. Dougan. “The idea that closing an Army base in a small town will somehow save taxpayer money is a myth. The salaries earned and contracts made at these bases go directly into those local economies, creating a platform for private jobs to flourish. Closing a base is like spending a quarter to save a dime – the numbers just don’t add up.”
The news comes as Defense employees are facing 14 unpaid furlough days between now and the end of the fiscal year in September. Making matters worse, a third year of frozen pay is placing an even tighter squeeze on already beleaguered federal families. By far federal workers have sacrificed more than any other single group in the name of deficit reduction; this is a trend that has only accelerated in 2013.
“Federal workers aren’t an ATM machine,” said Dougan. “They are real people with real bills to pay. Elected officials need to step up and develop real solutions to our fiscal problems – not more of the same anti-federal worker gimmicks.”