Cuts will reportedly take place over several years and be accomplished through reduced hiring as opposed to layoffs.
United States President Donald Trump’s administration is planning significant personnel cuts at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and other major US spy units, according to The Washington Post, in a move seen as part of his bid to downsize key government agencies.
The CIA plans to cut 1,200 positions, along with thousands more from other parts of the US intelligence community, the newspaper reported on Friday.
Members of Congress have reportedly been told about the planned cuts, which will take place over several years and be accomplished in part through reduced hiring as opposed to layoffs, the report added.
Asked about the report, a spokesperson for the agency did not confirm the specifics, but said that the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, “is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the administration’s national security priorities”.
“These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the agency with renewed energy, provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position CIA to deliver on its mission,” the spokesperson also said.
Trump appointee Ratcliffe, who was sworn in as CIA director in January, previously told lawmakers that, under his leadership, the agency would “produce insightful, objective, all-source analysis, never allowing political or personal biases to cloud our judgement or infect our products”.
“We will collect intelligence, especially human intelligence, in every corner of the globe, no matter how dark or difficult,” as well as “conduct covert action at the direction of the president, going places no one else can go and doing things no one else can do”, he said.
Addressing CIA officers, he said: “If all of this sounds like what you signed up for, then buckle up and get ready to make a difference. If it doesn’t, then it’s time to find a new line of work.”
In March, the CIA also announced that it would fire an undetermined number of junior officers as part of Trump’s government downsizing policy.
An agency spokesperson said those officers with behavioural issues or who are deemed a poor fit for intelligence work will be laid off, noting that not everyone proves to be able to handle the pressures of the job.
In February, the CIA also offered buyouts to some employees. It was not clear how many employees accepted the offer.
