Elon Musk tells federal workers: Explain your job or you’re fired

Elon Musk told every US government employee on Saturday they must clearly say what they did last week—or else they’re out of a job. Elon posted on X (formerly Twitter) that this sudden demand came directly from President Donald Trump. 

Right after Elon’s tweet, a memo went out from the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, according to a report from the Financial Times. The memo specifically asked federal employees to write down five things they did in the past week. They have until midnight on Monday. It also told employees not to include classified info.

The demand from Elon matches exactly how he handled things at Twitter after taking it over. He had previously asked Twitter workers to quickly justify their roles or risk getting fired. President Donald Trump seemed happy with Elon’s new government approach, posting on Truth Social Sunday that Elon was “DOING A GREAT JOB, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM GET MORE AGGRESSIVE.”

Elon’s team at the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, known informally as “D.O.G.E,” has already made massive cuts throughout federal agencies. D.O.G.E has canceled hundreds of government contracts and put tens of thousands of government staff on suspension.

Trump’s administration has faced criticism over some firings—especially veterans and cyber security experts—and even had to rehire some people at the agency that manages America’s nuclear weapons because they mistakenly fired key staff.

D.O.G.E recently offered federal workers a choice: either return to the office full-time or resign. The White House estimated around 200,000 workers might take this deal. But by the time the scheme ended earlier this month, about 77,000 employees actually resigned.

On Friday, Trump fired General CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, plus five other senior Pentagon officials. Next week, the Defense Department will also fire 5,400 probationary workers, under the guidance of Elon’s D.O.G.E following the confirmation of Pete Hagseth as Defense chief.

Even though Saturday’s email request came officially from the government’s Office of Personnel Management, it didn’t repeat Elon’s threat of automatic firing. But Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, quickly responded.

Everett promised that his union would legally challenge any firings he called “unlawful.” Everett added that Elon and Trump have again shown disrespect to government workers and the services they perform.

“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” Everett said.

How will the US economy be affected by all this?

Economists say these cuts might become the largest firing of government employees in US history. The White House, guided by Elon’s D.O.G.E group, has already fired tens of thousands of workers or convinced them to quit.

The US federal government employs more people than any other organization nationwide. Economists aren’t exactly sure how many jobs Trump’s administration plans to cut, but it’s definitely in the tens of thousands, based on current evidence.

There were about 220,000 federal employees with less than a year of tenure as of May 2024, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

On top of that, more than 75,000 federal workers agreed to quit after being offered buyouts. Those employees will keep receiving paychecks through September even though they don’t work anymore. Bloomberg economists think total job losses won’t exceed 300,000 but could easily surpass 100,000.

Losing a job can seriously hurt families. People who suddenly lose income often have trouble quickly finding a new position. According to data from the Labor Department, unemployment benefits only cover around one-third of what someone earned before losing their job.

Data showing exactly how many federal workers lost jobs might not appear in official unemployment reports for at least a month. According to a Piper Sandler report from February 16, those who took the severance deals won’t even be counted officially until September.

But weekly unemployment claims in Washington, D.C., already rose 36% by the week ending February 8, indicating early signs of significant job losses.

Economists like Tedeschi, former chief economist for the Biden administration’s White House Council of Economic Advisers, said these layoffs alone won’t severely damage the broader US economy. Tedeschi explained that even if around 200,000 probationary workers lose jobs immediately, it would only reduce America’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) by about 0.1%. “This, on its own, is not recessionary,” Tedeschi said.