DOGE to Cut 1,000 Jobs at Largest U.S. Army Ammunition Plant

The newly established U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to cut approximately 1,000 jobs at one of the country’s largest ammunition plants.

This was reported by KFOR following a conversation with Senator James Lankford.

The McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MCAAP), which is operated by the U.S. Department of Defense, is the largest ammunition depot in the United States.

The plant specializes in producing, modernizing, repairing, and disposing of a wide range of ammunition, including the GBU-43 MOAB (Massive Ordnance Air Blast), the world’s most powerful aerial bomb.

MCAAP is storing over a third of the U.S. Army’s ammunition. 

Senator Lankford warned that cutting up to 1,000 civilian positions could significantly impact operations at MCAAP, which currently employs 1,883 civilian workers.

Military analyst Colby Badhwar expressed concerns that such job cuts would negatively affect U.S. defense capabilities and disrupt numerous international contracts.

In addition to cuts at MCAAP, Lankford stated that 600 civilian jobs at Tinker Air Force Base, the largest logistics and maintenance center for the U.S. Air Force, would be eliminated. 

Lankford emphasized that Tinker and MCAAP could not operate effectively with such reductions. “Tinker cannot operate if we lose 600 civilian employees. We cannot keep the aircraft in the air for a long time for the Air Force. And that is very important to us. The same is true for McAlester. If we take a thousand civilians out of there, we won’t be able to do the work,” he said.

Pentagon prepares for budget cuts

On February 19, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered Pentagon leadership to develop plans for an 8% reduction in the defense budget over the next five years.

The funding cuts were not supposed to affect operations on the U.S. southern border, nuclear modernization, missile defense, or the purchase of kamikaze drones and ammunition. 

Several key regional commands, including Indo-Pacific, Northern, and Space commands, will continue to receive funding, while European, Central, and African commands will not.