Hegseth orders Pentagon to cut number of senior generals by 20%

[zipplewrath]

22. Classic Corporate Concept

I worked for years in the corporate world. A classic way for upper management to achieve cost cuts was to dictate staff reductions. In one sense they weren't wrong, our primary cost on most programs was manpower. Okay, we're over budget, something has to be done. Cutting manpower made a sort of sense. Here was the problem. You also had to cut "scope". I.e you had to eliminate the tasks that the manpower was expected to accomplish. They of course never wanted to do that.

20% reduction in 4 stars. Okay, that's apparently about 8 people. What are they doing and who is going to replace them? A 3 star? Is some 4 star going to get a larger command? But you see, Hegseth won't make those decisions. It will literally fall to the very people left behind. And in the end, what will really happen is that some 3 star will be given all the responsibility of a 4 star, without the promotion.

Our company, 20 years ago, decided that we were "top heavy". So they offered a retirement/severance package to VP's and some directors to try to "cull the herd". Within 2 years, every single position that had been "eliminated" was recreated. In many cases the position was filled by someone who didn't get the title of VP, but they got all the responsibility. Oh, by the way, I know you might think that by having someone to the job without being a VP means that they get paid less. Think again. Salary levels overlap and most of them were doing just fine thank you very much.