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What we know (and don't know) about sweeping federal job cuts and Wright-Patt Air Force Base

Air force commanders at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Master Sgt. Patrick O鈥橰eilly
/
U.S. Air Force
Air force commanders at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

President Donald Trump signed an last month requiring federal agencies to prepare for 鈥渓arge-scale reductions in force鈥 in an effort to reduce federal debt.

As part of this federal overhaul, the Department of Defense, which oversees the U.S. Department of the Air Force, is looking to downsize its civilian workforce .

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a major Miami Valley employer and is overseen by those entities.

WYSO has compiled a list of information to offer context on what鈥檚 been happening and how the Dayton area could be impacted.

1. Wright-Patterson officials declined to comment on how many, if any, employees have been dismissed in relation to the Defense Department cuts. The Department of Defense has also declined to comment. And as of publish time, the Department of the Air Force didn鈥檛 respond to specific questions from WYSO.

2. Wright-Patterson is the largest single-site employer in Ohio, with 38,000 employees according to the base鈥檚 website. Of those, 15,000 to 16,000 are civilian employees, said Michael Gessel, vice president of federal government programs for the Dayton Development Coalition.

According to JobsOhio, the state鈥檚 private economic development corporation, ranks third in the nation for Air Force civilian employees.

And it鈥檚 a significant economic driver in the Dayton region; defense related-activities create an economic impact.

3. The deadline for agencies to submit its first round of reduction-in-force reports was on Thursday. That鈥檚 according to published last month by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Agency leadership were required to submit information on 鈥渋nitial agency cuts and reductions,鈥 with potential for another wave of layoffs to take place in April. These reports will be reviewed and approved by these offices, the guidance reads.

4. Uniformed military personnel are exempt from these layoffs, according to the executive order published last month. That means active or reserve, combatant or noncombatant.

5. The Defense Department is looking carefully at its probationary employees. reports that the Defense department has roughly 55,000 probationary employees 鈥 often those that have been in their position for less than two years. According to NPR, probationary employees 鈥渕ay be let go without any prior notice or severance鈥 and usually don鈥檛 have the right to appeal termination.

The Department of Defense released a at the end of last month saying that approximately 5,400 of its probationary employees were going to be released from their positions.

6. Defense contractors may also be impacted, said Gessel. The Defense Department is undergoing a review of the major defense contractors. And when that review is completed, the Defense Department may choose to take some action that will modify some of the contracts,鈥 he said. Gessel said this area has been 鈥渙ff the radar screen.鈥
Specifically, to look at their consulting contracts.

reports that the Pentagon is seeking to reduce its annual budget by 8% over the next five years 鈥 an annual decrease of about $50 billion. No agency would respond to how many WPAFB contractors might be, or have been, impacted.

7. Agency heads have the ability to file exemptions for positions they deem 鈥渘ecessary to meet national security, homeland security, or public safety responsibilities,鈥 according to Trump鈥檚 executive order.

That is the likely reason that Ohio鈥檚 U.S. senators, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month inviting him to visit Wright-Patterson. 

鈥淭he more that Secretary Hegseth sees of Wright-Patterson, and the more he understands the important missions that take place here that are so important to national defense, the better off we are,Gessel said.

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