Federal Managers Association

In the News

• Pentagon moves to fire civilian personnel with ‘speed and conviction’ - October 28, 2025

• A memo from the Defense Department’s top personnel official makes it easier to remove underperforming employees and warns managers that they will be held accountable.

  Tara Copp, The Washington Post

  The Pentagon removed key protections for defense civilian workers and directed that managers move with “speed and conviction” to fire employees with “unacceptable” performance reviews last month, just a day before the government shut down.

  The new guidelines were outlined in a Sept. 30 memo titled “Separation of Employees with Unacceptable Performance” that’s been circulating through the Defense Department in the last week, spurring concern among the workforce.

  The move is seen by some managers as necessary to get rid of underperforming employees. Others caution that the edict, signed by Undersecretary of Defense Anthony Tata, the Pentagon’s top personnel policy officer, is so broad it could be used to fire anyone who doesn’t rubber stamp the administration’s programs.

  To read the full article, click here.

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