The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the latest federal agency facing a major slash under Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Brian Bjelde, a senior DOGE official, has instructed OPM leadership will see a 30 per cent staff cut, with the final reduction reaching up to 70 per cent, per CNN.
“People around OPM look like they have seen a ghost. People are shocked,” a source told Federal News Network.
Officials have also directed OPM, which currently employs approximately 3,000 individuals, to halt work on any projects that are not legally mandated.
DOGE continues sending emails to government personnel to provide them with a deferred resignation pathway. Under this plan, employees keep their federal positions until Thursday, February 6, yet receive complete pay and benefits until September 30.
Protests erupt over Musk's elimination call
{{/usCountry}}DOGE continues sending emails to government personnel to provide them with a deferred resignation pathway. Under this plan, employees keep their federal positions until Thursday, February 6, yet receive complete pay and benefits until September 30.
Protests erupt over Musk's elimination call
{{/usCountry}}Federal workers erupted with intense anger after the release of the ‘Fork in the Road’ memorandum became a notorious document. The start of the workweek brought government facility protests during which demonstrators showed their resistance to Musk's forceful elimination strategy.
Former federal employee Keya Chatterjee, now the executive director of Free D.C., condemned the layoffs, telling USA Today, “Musk can fork off.”
Protesters rallied with slogans such as, “We don't want your tech solutions, give us back our Constitution,” and “Elon, Elon, have you heard? You're a nasty, fascist nerd.”
Opposition to DOGE’s actions has also extended to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where staffers were informed overnight that the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters would be closed.
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Musk, however, defended the move to eliminate USAID. “USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” he wrote on X.
“Elon can't do and won't do anything without our approval, and we'll give him the approval where appropriate,” Donald Trump backed Tesla boss. “It's something he feels very strongly about.”