The General Services Administration (GSA) is requesting that hundreds of federal employees who were let go during Elon Musk's cost cutting crusade return to work.
They have until the end of the week to accept or reject the recall notices. According to an internal memo examined by the Associated Press, those who consent will return to duty on October 6 following what amounts to a seven month paid leave.According to Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate officer, "the agency was left broken and understaffed as a result." "They lacked the personnel required to perform essential tasks."
Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) targeted th
e GSA, which oversees thousands of government workplaces, and the reversal underscores the burden on the agency.
In recent weeks, agencies such as the National Park Service, the Labour Department, and the IRS have also rehired employees after downsizing efforts caused problems.
Thousands of GSA workers accepted offers of early retirement or quit beginning in March. As part of severe personnel reductions, hundreds more were fired outright, but some still received wages.
Democrats contend that there were no noticeable savings from the downsizing, even though the government has not revealed the cost of the reversal.
The leading Democrat in charge of the GSA, Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, stated: "It's undermined the very services taxpayers rely on while creating costly confusion."
GSA was designated as the primary target of DOGE's anti-fraud and waste initiative.
The goal of Musk's aides stationed at GSA headquarters was to sell hundreds of federally owned properties and terminate over half of the 7,500 leases held by the agency.
At one point, over 800 notifications of lease termination were sent out without telling government renters.
The cancellations are expected to save $140 million, compared to DOGE's original projection of approximately $460 million.
The IRS, Social Security Administration, and FDA facilities are among the more than 480 leases that were originally scheduled for termination but were spared.
