The Pentagon said on Friday it would start firing about 5,400 civilian employees who were on probation, the first moves by President Donald Trump's administration at the department to make good on its promise to reduce the federal workforce.

The Defense Department has temporarily paused a plan to carry out mass firings of civilian probationary employees until Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel can carry out a more thorough review of the impacts such firings could have on US military readiness,

The pause comes after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth directed the military services to identify $50 billion in programs that could be cut next year.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told the Pentagon to find $50 billion in programs to cut this year, to redirect funds to President Trump's priorities.

Data analytics company Palantir is a major US defense contractor. Its shares were up 65% this year before Wednesday.

Palantir Technologies Inc. shares fell 10% on Wednesday, and continued to slide in after-hours trading, following a report that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asked officials for plans on how to slash military spending.