The Trump administration is bringing back furloughed staff following a period of aggressive cost reduction efforts | Donald Trump News

The General Services Administration (GSA) has informed hundreds of federal employees who lost their jobs due to Elon Musk’s cost-cutting measures that they have until the end of the week to decide whether they want to be reinstated. The employees, who were responsible for managing government workspaces, were let go as part of a seven-month paid vacation period. During this time, the GSA incurred high costs in certain cases, which taxpayers had to foot the bill for. Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official, stated that the agency had been left broken and understaffed as a result of this downsizing. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Musk, implemented the aggressive reduction in the federal workforce, causing the GSA to start asking employees to return to work. Several other agencies affected by DOGE, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Labor Department, and National Park Service, have also made efforts to rehire employees who took voluntary resignation offers or buyouts. The GSA’s role in managing the buildings of these agencies is crucial. In March, thousands of GSA employees left the agency as part of programs encouraging resignation or early retirement. However, hundreds of dismissed employees who are being asked to return to work have not shown up for their jobs, but some are still receiving pay. The GSA has not responded to inquiries regarding the return-to-work notice or provided information on the agency’s headcount, staffing decisions, or potential cost overruns resulting from the leases they initially planned to terminate. Democrats have criticized the administration’s approach to cutting costs and jobs, arguing that it has created confusion and undermined services relied upon by taxpayers. DOGE targeted the GSA, which had approximately 12,000 employees at the beginning of Trump’s administration, as one of its main objectives in curbing fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government. Musk and his trusted aides were embedded in the GSA’s headquarters, even sleeping on cots, and pursued abrupt lease cancellation and the sale of federally-owned buildings. The Government Accountability Office is currently conducting an investigation into the GSA’s management of its workforce, lease terminations, and planned building disposals and is expected to release its findings in the coming months.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2025/9/24/trump-administration-rehires-laid-off-employees-after-cost-cutting-blitz?traffic_source=rss