The Defence Council has approved proposals to support the continued restructuring of the military with aim of trimming the country's armed forces by 5% over four years, according to the Defence Ministry.
Col Wanchana Sawasdee, deputy spokesman of the ministry, said the Jan 21 meeting chaired by Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha came to agreement on ensuring that recruitment and personnel management plans reflect the restructuring.
He said the number of armed forces personnel must be trimmed by 5% by the 2027 fiscal year, and when units are merged or dissolved as part of restructuring, the number of armed forces and expenditures must not increase.
Col Wanchana said the Defence Ministry has already begun downsizing the military.
The programme includes cuts on enrolment at all military schools including armed forces-related academies and technical schools, the hiring of civilians in the Defence Ministry and the early retirement programme.
He said the trimming of the armed forces is in accordance with restructuring plans by the Defence Ministry for 2017-2026, which will allow the ministry to better respond to emerging threats.
Last year's proposal directed that the appointment of "experts, specialists and special experts" who usually hold the rank of general would be aggressively scaled down. And when these senior officers retire, they would not be replaced.
Once implemented, the measures would help reduce the number of generals across the forces by 5–10%.