The C.I.A. plans to cut more than 1,000 staff positions through attrition over the next few years as the Trump administration shrinks the federal government, according to officials briefed on the plans.
The agency does not plan any more mass firings. About 80 recently hired employees were let go in March. The C.I.A. is also firing officers who had worked on diversity issues, although a judge has temporarily halted that effort.
For the next rounds of reduction, the agency plans, for now, to use normal attrition, including retirements and resignations.
A spokeswoman for the agency did not directly confirm the plan to reduce its size but said in a statement that John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, was “moving swiftly” to ensure that its work force was “responsive to the administration’s national security priorities.” The cuts were confirmed by officials who were not authorized to speak publicly about them.
Changes at the agency, the spokeswoman said, would “provide opportunities for rising leaders to emerge, and better position C.I.A. to deliver on its mission.”
The plan to reduce the size of the agency was earlier reported by The Washington Post.
The C.I.A. does not officially discuss the size of its staff, but it is believed to number about 22,000. Other intelligence agencies, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency, are planning reductions as well.
Julian E. Barnes covers the U.S. intelligence agencies and international security matters for The Times. He has written about security issues for more than two decades.
Mark Mazzetti is an investigative reporter based in Washington, D.C., focusing on national security, intelligence, and foreign affairs. He has written a book about the C.I.A.
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