Staff to be rebalanced at National Defence, Nicholson tells media briefing

OTTAWA – Up to 4,800 military and civilian staff at National Defence could find themselves doing other work, training for new positions or perhaps even out of a job over the next four years.

It’s part of a so-called defence renewal strategy unveiled today by the Harper government.

Defence Minister Rob Nicholson says the plan could save as much as $1.2 billion between now and 2017.

Nicholson insists the money will not be taken away from Defence, but rather be plowed back into the department to maintain readiness.

The renewal plan aims for fewer managers, saying about half of the department’s current bosses manage too few people.

The plan says the idea isn’t just to reduce bodies, but the department will maximize the use of attrition and retraining wherever it can and use high-tech simulators and other technology to cut costs.