WASHINGTON: The US Army is set to cut 40,000 military and 17,000 civilian posts, between 2015 and 2017, due to budget constraints, US media reported.
Citing a senior official from the Department of Defense, CNN and USA Today reported on Tuesday that the layoffs would be officially announced this week although Pentagon has been regularly reporting to Congress on the issue.
This new wave of staff cuts would add to those already being carried out by the Pentagon for years to adapt to an increasingly tight budget.
By the time the defence budget comes in 2017, more than 100,000 soldiers would have been laid off in five years.
In 2012, the US Army had 570,000 troops, which will be reduced to 450,000 in 2017 if the cuts come through, making the army smaller than it was during World War II.
Currently, the US has 10,000 soldiers deployed in Afghanistan, and more than 3,500 in advisory missions to help train local troops in Iraq and Syria in the fight against the Islamic State militant group.
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