Burmese officials say the military has forced about 800 army officers into retirement.
The layoffs are part of a larger plan to retire about three thousand members of the military to try to modernize the officer corps.
Burma has been ruled by the military since 1962 and maintains a defense force of about 400-thousand members.
The United States and the European Union have sanctioned the military-ruled government for human rights abuses, slow democratic reforms and the ongoing house arrest of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
