Pentagon / Civilian defense workers at risk of layoffs by thousands

The 113th Congress‘ most pressing defense-related concern will be the military’s budget, despite the previous Congress having averted the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

Come March 1, automatic spending cuts will begin slicing $500 billion from the Pentagon’s budget over the next 10 years — and prompting layoffs for as many as 800,000 civilian Defense Department workers.

“The onus is on Congress to avoid it once and for all,” Pentagon press secretary George Little said last week.

The 112th Congress‘ fiscal cliff deal, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, delayed until March 1 the start of across-the-board, automatic spending cuts known as sequestration. The federal government would have to begin cutting its spending by about $1 trillion over the next decade, with the Pentagon accounting for about half of that reduction.

Choosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via Sequestration could idle civilian defense workers by thousands – Washington Times.