“This complete evaluate could inform future choices relating to workforce reductions or constructions to raised assist our warfighters,” a Navy official mentioned.
The Division of the Navy has launched a sweeping, departmentwide organizational evaluate that might result in vital restructuring of its civilian workforce, together with doable 5% to twenty% reductions in complete civilian personnel.
A Navy official advised Federal Information Community the service is “taking appropriate action to fully comply with the Secretary of War’s initiative to reform the federal workforce to support warfighters consistent with National Defense Strategy guidance.”
The official mentioned the organizational evaluate builds on earlier efforts by Navy Secretary John Phelan to consolidate and streamline the division and is designed to “provide a thorough analysis that will inform a final DON organization structure that focuses resources on warfighting excellence.”
As a part of Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Workforce Acceleration and Recapitalization Initiative — which instructed army companies to conduct detailed evaluation of their organizational constructions — Navy leaders briefed the outcomes of their evaluate to the deputy secretary of protection final Could. The initiative documented ongoing Navy restructuring efforts and “identified opportunities for workforce shaping in fiscal 2026,” in response to a Feb. 17 memo.
“In concert with these early initiatives, I issued an update to the reference and directed the establishment, consolidation and streamlining of DON organizations, including the Offices of the Chief of Naval Intelligence, Chief of Naval Policy, Director of Administration, and Chief of Information. Further efforts are underway within the Secretariat, Navy and Marine Corps to redefine existing organizational structures and optimize the civilian workforce,” Phelan mentioned within the memo.
“Based on initial efforts, as well as those currently underway, opportunity remains for additional reductions in specific areas as we finalize a departmental organization that will deliver warfighting readiness,” he added.
Phelan directed Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Benjamin Kohlmann to guide the evaluate, gather information throughout the division and suggest a remaining organizational construction and billet alignment. An preliminary standing report is as a result of secretary of the Navy in March.
“We are currently in the analysis phase. This is a deliberate process, and we are committed to getting this right. No final decisions have been made. We will ensure Congress and our workforce are kept informed as the review progresses,” the Navy official mentioned.
In a follow-on memo issued Feb. 18, Kohlmann mentioned the evaluate recognized alternatives for added reductions in particular areas, significantly inside the Navy Secretariat and Finances Submitting Organizations throughout Echelons 1 by means of 4, and directed instructions to organize impression statements proposing potential staffing reductions at 10%, 15% and 20%.
“This review analyzes factors that would optimize organizational structure and eliminate functional redundancies to better support our Sailors and Marines. It is a data-driven effort to align our civilian structure with the National Defense Strategy and enhance the lethality of our force. The Secretary has directed a comprehensive analysis, and modeling a range of scenarios is a standard and prudent part of that process,” the Navy official mentioned.
The Navy’s manpower workplace will present “tools to support scenario-based courses of action, along with templates and data to support the analysis.” The workplace will quickly concern formal tasking by means of ETMS2 and conduct recurring progress evaluations to information the organizational evaluate towards a deliberate implementation deadline of Sept. 30, 2026.
“Enterprise Task Management Software Solution (ETMS2) tasking with respect to the scope and substance of this effort is forthcoming, along with a schedule for in-progress reviews that will ensure we remain on track to meet implementation timeline of 30 September 2026,” Kohlmann mentioned within the memo.
The Navy official mentioned any subsequent actions might be based mostly on the outcomes of the preliminary evaluation.
It’s unclear when civilian staff might be notified whether or not their organizations or billets are affected. “This comprehensive review may inform future decisions regarding workforce reductions or structures to better support our warfighters. We are committed to a transparent process, and we will keep our workforce informed as we proceed,” the Navy official mentioned.
Shrinking the scale of the federal workforce has been a precedence for the second Trump administration. Final 12 months, Hegseth directed army departments to cut back civilian personnel by 5% to eight%, and greater than 60,000 Protection Division civilians have since left the division.
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