Associated Press

The Pentagon is proposing a 20% cut in the budget of major military headquarters to comply with mandated budget reductions, a move that could result in thousands of layoffs across the Department of Defense.

Defense officials have been reviewing various proposals to reduce spending. The new proposal, which would have to be approved by Congress, would cut personnel between 2015 and 2019, going far beyond civilian furloughs now under way.

The cut to headquarters budgets would apply to the military’s Joint Staff and to the Office of the Secretary of Defense — the department’s civilian leadership…