NSA has met 2,000-person workforce reduction goal, people familiar say

"The National Security Agency recently achieved its goals to shed around 2,000 people from its workforce this year, according to three people familiar with the spy agency's posture. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity because the milestone has not been made public. The reductions include a mix of civilian employees who were terminated, voluntarily left or took deferred resignation offers, where they agree to leave government service early while still being paid for a set time period."

"The figure marks a historic staffing reduction for the spy agency, one of the largest in the U.S. intelligence enterprise, and reflects monthslong pressures from the second Trump administration to downsize the federal government and clean out alleged bloat and politicization in its spy offices. The Washington Post and The Record, the news unit of cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, first reported the NSA's and the broader intelligence community's downsizing goals in May."

"The exact number of people remaining at NSA this year is not clear. The signals intelligence giant's full workforce numbers are classified from public view so foreign adversaries can't use the information to assess how the U.S. devotes resources to spying activities. An NSA spokesperson declined to comment. The NSA specializes in hacking and foreign eavesdropping and is deemed a "combat support agency" that faces oversight from both the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Defense Department."

The NSA reduced roughly 2,000 employees this year via terminations, voluntary departures, and deferred resignation offers that pay employees while they leave early. The reduction ranks among the largest in the U.S. intelligence community and follows sustained pressure from the second Trump administration to downsize and remove alleged bloat and politicization. Deferred resignation offers were first extended in February and downsizing goals were reported in May. Exact current NSA workforce numbers remain classified and the agency declined to comment. The NSA conducts hacking and foreign eavesdropping, is a combat support agency under ODNI and the Defense Department, and could face additional cuts tied to planned Defense budget reductions.

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