As Trump and Musk move to dismantle the federal workforce and cut spending, those tasked with repatriating missing Americans fear their mission is in jeopardy.

The Pentagon announced Friday it plans to ultimately fire five to eight percent of the military’s approximately 950,000 civilian employees, with an initial tranche of 5,400 probationary workers who don’t have “mission-critical” roles expected to be terminated next week.

The dismissals will begin next week, officials said, and could expand to include tens of thousands of other workers throughout the Defense Department.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed the Pentagon to come up with plans to cut 8% from the defense budget in each of the next five years, sources familiar with his plans told CBS News.

The Defense Department says it’s cutting 5,400 probationary workers starting next week and will put a hiring freeze in place.

"We expect approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be released beginning next week as part of this initial effort, after which we will implement a hiring freeze while we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs,