- Govt abolishes 44,286 positions; 11,259 declared “dying cadre”.
- Move aims to curb expenditure, rationalise size of federal workforce.
- Cabinet has approved abolition of around 150,000 posts in total.
ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s ongoing rightsizing exercise has so far led to the abolition or phased elimination of 55,545 vacant posts across various ministries and departments.
Official sources said that as part of structural reforms, 44,286 vacant positions have so far been abolished outright, while 11,259 posts have been declared as a “dying cadre”, meaning they will be gradually eliminated when they fall vacant or upon the retirement of incumbents.
These figures, a top source in the Establishment Division said, are recent. The exercise is being carried out under a committee formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to streamline the federal government, reduce expenditure and improve administrative efficiency.
The rightsizing initiative, launched in mid-2024, covers all federal ministries as well as hundreds of attached departments and autonomous bodies. It primarily targets long vacant or redundant posts to minimise disruption while achieving significant savings in the wage bill.
Officials say the move is intended to curb recurring expenditure and rationalise the size of the federal workforce amid ongoing economic challenges.
In 2024, the cabinet had approved the abolition of around 150,000 posts in the federal government, besides allowing amendments to the Army Act to give a financial package to employees affected by the regime’s rightsizing exercise.
According to the cabinet decision, 60% of vacant posts, which were assessed at around 150,000 by the government, were to be abolished or declared dying posts.
In order to help reduce the pension bill, the cabinet had also decided to outsource all posts concerning general, non-core services, including cleaning, plumbing, gardening, etc.
In addition to lessening the burden on the pension bill, the government expects that this initiative will drastically cut the size of BS 1-16 staff in the federal government.
The cabinet had also approved the proposal for the abolition of all contingency posts in the ministries and divisions.
Sources said the government deliberately focused on unfilled posts to avoid layoffs of serving employees. Positions declared as dying cadre will cease to exist over time, ensuring a gradual reduction in staff strength without immediate displacement.
The federal government previously had hundreds of thousands of sanctioned posts, a substantial portion of which remained vacant for years.
Originally published in The News
