The Ministry of Railways has disclosed plans to abolish 15,000 more positions as part of its ongoing rightsizing initiative, which has already seen the elimination of 17,101 posts out of a total of 95,859 sanctioned positions. An additional 5,695 posts are currently in the process of being abolished.
This update was shared during a Cabinet Committee on Rightsizing meeting, chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, to assess progress on downsizing across federal ministries, with a focus on the Ministry of Railways. Senior officials, including Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Parvez Malik, attended the session.
The committee was informed by the Establishment Division that confirmations had been received from 29 ministries and one constitutional body regarding the elimination of 11,877 posts and 4,660 dying cadre posts. The finance minister commended these steps, emphasizing the importance of streamlining government operations to improve efficiency.
In its briefing, the Ministry of Railways outlined measures to align its workforce with operational needs, optimize resources, and eliminate redundant positions. The rightsizing initiative aims to enhance the ministry’s efficiency while modernizing its operations to meet current demands.
The committee decided to refer the Railways’ rightsizing case to a Sub-Committee on Rightsizing for further evaluation and implementation of proposed measures. It also directed all federal ministries to continue phasing out surplus positions as part of a broader plan to enhance effectiveness and reduce expenditures.
Finance Minister Aurangzeb recently pledged to abolish 150,000 vacant federal posts as part of the structural reforms agreed upon with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce government expenditure and improve operational efficiency.Â
The rightsizing initiative, targeting 43 ministries and their 400 attached departments with an annual expenditure of Rs876 billion, aims to eliminate at least 60% of vacant positions, focusing on reducing contingency roles and lower-grade jobs.
