Starting Monday, 650,000 United States defense employees will be on furlough.
As part of the sequester, or federal spending cuts, that are currently underway, civilian defense workers will be forced to take one unpaid day off each week, leading to a 20% reduction in their pay through Sept. 21.
Some people have made light of the sequester because its effect has gone relatively unnoticed by the public so far. However, the Pentagon is the largest federal employer, with a budget of $680 billion. Even though defense isn't the first agency to start furloughing workers, it is the largest in terms of the sheer number of workers that will be hit by the $85 billion in federal spending cuts that kicked in on March 1.
The employees also work in key areas that equip and prepare U.S. forces deployed in dangerous places. With fewer people to do the job, the furloughs could slow deliveries of much-needed supplies to troops, some warn.
Unions are also predicting economic problems for rural communities that depend on military bases and depots, where thousands of furloughed employees live and work.
The Obama administration has recently been criticized for what critics say were over-the-top warnings about widespread damage from spending cuts. They say that sequester hasn't led to any of those dire outcomes.
Some of the most noticeable effects were blunted by Congress, which stopped furloughs in the airline and food industries. Programs that help the poor, sick and elderly, however, have already taken devastating blows.
Now, with so many defense workers on furlough starting next week, the cuts' effects will be felt in other ways.
The furloughs don't affect those on active military duty. Another 150,000 of the agency's 800,000 civilian workers have also managed to avoid them because their jobs have been deemed critical. They include intelligence officers, Navy shipyard builders, Army firefighters and foreign nationals.
Defense Department Secretary Chuck Hagel announced the 11-day furlough period in May, down from 22 days originally on the table.
The furlough is expected to save the agency $1.8 billion U.S., a small part of the $40 billion that defense has to cut. Defense officials didn't respond to requests for comment.
