The Defense Department does not plan to furlough civilian workers during fiscal year 2014 despite uncertainties surrounding its budget, Federal News Radio reports.

Jared Serbu writes President Barack Obama will submit a budget to Congress April 10 that will assume sequestration will be repealed and contain funding levels above current sequestration caps.

Robert Hale, Defense Department comptroller, told Federal News Radio the Pentagon would take other measures to reduce its workforce if the sequester continues into 2014.

“The substitute may be reductions in force and involuntary separations, unfortunately, but we want to start doing this with more of a scalpel and less of a meat axe,” he told the station.

For the rest of fiscal year 2013, the Pentagon is putting employees on unpaid leave for 14 days.