Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a 2025 Wash100 awardee, has issued a memo directing Anthony Tata, under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, to release guidance to “encourage workforce rewards and demystify the removal process.”
In his Sept. 30 memo titled “Modern Workforce Management,” Hegseth wrote that Tata will lead a “cultural refresh” aimed at incentivizing top civilian employees and advancing the removal of underperformers at the Department of Defense.
“First, we need to incentivize and reward our top performers. Department employees are not in it for the money, but our best performers need to be appropriately recognized for their performance, including through meaningful monetary awards,” the DOD secretary said.
“Second, managers need more guidance on how to separate underperforming employees. Complex offboarding creates cultural drag that hurts morale across the Department and hinders our mission,” he added.
DOD Under Secretary Tata’s Directive on Removal Procedures for Underperformers
Hegseth’s memo coincided with the release of Tata’s new directive, which outlined processes for eliminating underperforming employees.
“Supervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction to facilitate the separation from Federal service of employees performing unsuccessfully,” Tata wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership, DOD agency and field activity directors, and heads of combatant commands.
According to an attachment to Tata’s memo, removal may be justified by factors such as “consistent failure” to meet deadlines, repeated mistakes that disrupt operations or hinder the agency’s goals, and inability to carry out key tasks.
The memo directs supervisors to partner with HR officials to send notices of proposed removal to underperformers, who will be given seven calendar days to respond.
According to the directive, the deciding official will assess and decide within 30 calendar days of receiving the proposed removal notice.
