The Pentagon has pulled key protections for its civilian personnel, directing managers to move with \u201cspeed and conviction\u201d to fire underperforming workers, according to a memo issued one day before the U.S. government shut down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSupervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction<\/strong> to facilitate the separation from Federal service of employees performing unsuccessfully,\u201d states a Sept. 30 memo signed by the Pentagon\u2019s top personnel policy officer, Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also warns that managers will be held accountable if they don\u2019t address \u201cpoor employee performance.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The new guidelines, which became public Tuesday, have sparked fears that they could be used to push out anyone<\/strong> at the Pentagon who doesn\u2019t agree with or toe the line on the Trump administration\u2019s programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s unclear how many employees may have been fired<\/strong> since the memo took effect. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nearly half of the Defense civilian workforce \u2014 about 334,900 employees<\/strong> \u2014 have been furloughed for the shutdown, according to the department\u2019s contingency plan released last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trump administration has attempted to fire thousands<\/strong> of furloughed employees while the government is closed \u2014 part of the president\u2019s bid to greatly reduce the federal workforce in his second term \u2014 but the move has been blocked by a California federal court that found such cuts were likely illegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n