Hundreds of laid-off federal employees who managed government workspaces are being called back to their jobs as the Trump administration walks back plans to slash its real estate portfolio.

MIAMI (AP) — Hundreds of federal employees who lost their jobs in Elon Musk’s cost-cutting blitz are being asked to return to work.

The General Services Administration has given the employees — who managed government workspaces — until the end of the week to accept or decline reinstatement, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Those who accept must report for duty on Oct. 6 after what amounts to a seven-month paid vacation, during which time the GSA in some cases racked up high costs — passed along to taxpayers — to stay in dozens of properties whose leases it had slated for termination or were allowed to expire.

“Ultimately, the outcome was the agency was left broken and understaffed,” said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official. “They didn’t have the people they needed to carry out basic functions.”

Becker, who represents owners with government leases at Arco Real Estate Solutions, said GSA has been in a “triage mode” for months. He said the sudden reversal of the downsizing reflects how Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency had gone too far, too fast.

  • A_norny_mousse@feddit.org
    23·
    2 days ago

    Those who accept must report for duty on Oct. 6 after what amounts to a seven-month paid vacation

    Saved Billions there, right?

    And as another commenter said: the full story is even worse. Add to that that these guys will have a LOT of extra work to get their workplace in order when they get back.

    And the best ones said fuck it, I’m going elsewhere.

    Well done, DOGE

  • Poayjay@lemmy.worldEnglish
    41·
    2 days ago

    What a shit article. The courts ruled that the hundreds of employees that were placed on admin leave pending termination for working there less than a year were fired illegally. They cannot fire them. Since they are still on admin leave they have to come back.

    What they failed to mention is that all of the employees who were put on admin leave pending termination, who then took the “fork” offer do not get to come back because they “quit.”

    The GSA was and is DOGE central and is completely broken right now.

      • Frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        Well, it was. That was exactly the plan of Project 2025. Problem was, Musk steamrolled over all that to implement step one while forgetting that there’s a step two.

        I said shortly after the election that they wouldn’t be able to implement half of Project 2025 because of reality getting in the way. The Project 2025 Tracker currently lists it as 47% complete, and it’s been stuck around there for quite some time. I didn’t expect my prediction to be that literally close, but there it is.