Defense Minister proposes to cut 1,500 jobs

Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen SøreideForeign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB scanpix

Defence Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide proposes to cut 1,500 positions in defense and close down nine military bases, according to Dagens Næringsliv.

The newspaper wrote on Wednesday night about the nature of the long-term plans for the Armed Forces which will probably not be submitted to Parliament until June.
The plan proposes to cut more than 1,500 jobs spread over 1,100 military staff and 450 civilians. It is estimated a savings of 2.4 billion in four years, and that 23 billion will be released over 20 years.
The purpose of the proposals are said to be to introduce new initiatives, but also to ensure consistency between funding, structure and tasks.
This long-term initiative for defense has been endorsed by the Government.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today