The Air Force on Wednesday announced the immediate elimination of 9,000 civilian jobs, with 4,500 to follow in the future, in an effort to reduce expenses, as part of a broader push to lower defense spending, according to The Washington Post.

We clearly understand the turbulence these and future reductions will cause in the workforce, Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the Air Force chief of staff, said, promising to make cuts through attrition and other moves to minimize forced layoffs.

The Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio would feel the immediate impact of the cuts through a reorganization of the command of its civilian command, to be finished by October 2012.

Areas Scheduled fo Cuts

The 9,000 total cuts would come from losses at management, staff and support positions in several bases, while adding 5,900 positions in high priority areas such as weapons buying, nuclear weapon management and an expansion of intelligence work.

Communities dependent upon the Military agency's presence already began taking a toll of the cuts effect on jobs, with Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachussetts slated to lose 300 jobs, as well as more in Colorado.

The Pentagon budget ballooned in the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, until the Obama administration sought cuts of nearly $500 billion dollars over the next dozen years, with cuts potentially double that amount triggered if the Congressional super committee does not reach a deal.

Management Jobs