Unpaid leave for hundreds of thousands of civilian Department of Defense employees began in July as part of federal budget cuts.
By Rachel Hatzipanagos
Months after being told sequestration would force them to take several unpaid days of leave, Civilian employees for the Department of Defense learned Tuesday they will have about half the number of furlough days they anticipated, the Associated Press reports.
Pentagon officials were able to cut the amount of furlough days from 11 to 6 by finding about $900 million in savings through various methods including transferring funds among agencies and cutting costs, according to the Associated Press.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the furlough decision in a statement released Tuesday.
"As a result of these management initiatives, reduced costs, and reprogramming from Congress, we have determined that we can make some improvements in training and readiness and still meet the sequestration cuts," Hagel's statement reads.
About 650,000 civilians started taking mandatory unpaid furlough days in July. The furloughs had been mandated as part of sequestration.
Congressman Jim Moran, who represents many of those citizens in Northern Virginia, expressed relief at the reduction in furlough days.
"Thankfully, by virtue of this decision, DOD employees and their families now face a little less hardship," Moran said in a prepared statement.
How do you feel about the cut in furlough days?
