The Ministry of Defence is set to axe around 2,000 civilian jobs by 2014 as it streamlines its corporate services.
Defence Secretary Liam Fox announced proposals for a new Defence Business Services organisation that would deliver services such as human resources and finance from a single structure to all areas of the department.
The new body is expected to save the taxpayer £73 million a year by 2014, Dr Fox told MPs in a written statement.
Dr Fox announced a consultation on the "significant organisational change" within the MoD.
He said: "Defence Business Services will deliver corporate services - human resources, finance, information, commercial and vetting - from a single structure to all areas of the department. This new single organisation will allow us to provide high quality professional services more efficiently and with fewer civil servants."
The MoD is exploring the option of bringing in "outside professional management expertise" to lead and direct the new organisation, he added.
"By making these changes we expect to reduce the overall civilian workforce by about 2,000 corporate services posts with a net saving of £73 million per annum by 2014. This will make a significant contribution to the civilian staff reductions set out last October in the Strategic Defence and Security Review."
Plans to cut 25,000 civilian personnel by 2015 were outlined in last year's defence review.
Last month the MoD announced changes to the way it manages its land and buildings that will lead to the loss of 2,500 jobs within three years. Defence Estates, which runs about 2,400 hectares, is being replaced by the new Defence Infrastructure Organisation.
Dr Fox said: "Along with the creation of a new Defence Infrastructure Organisation, the corporate services reforms are the first changes arising out of the work of the Defence Reform Unit chaired by Lord Levene on restructuring the department. There will be more such changes as we receive and consider further proposals."
