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 remarked that the sudden reversal of downsizing reflects how Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency had gone too far, too fast.
Rehiring of purged federal employees
GSA was established in the 1940s to centralize the acquisition and management of thousands of federal workplaces. Its return to work request mirrors rehiring efforts at other agencies targeted by DOGE. Last month, the IRS stated it would allow some employees who took a resignation offer to remain on the job. The Labor Department has also reinstated some employees who accepted buyouts, while the National Park Service previously brought back several purged employees.
Critical to the work of such agencies is the GSA, which manages many of the federally owned buildings. Starting in March, thousands of GSA employees left the agency as part of incentive programs that encouraged resignations or early retirements. Hundreds were dismissed as part of an aggressive push to shrink the federal workforce. Although those let go did not report to work, they were still compensated through the end of the month.
GSA representatives did not respond to detailed questions regarding the return-to-work notice issued on Friday. They also refrained from discussing the agency’s headcount, staffing decisions, or the potential cost overruns resulting from reversing plans to terminate leases.
“GSA’s leadership team has reviewed workforce actions and is making adjustments in the best interest of the customer agencies we serve and the American taxpayers,” a spokesperson stated in an email.
Democrats have criticized the previous administration's indiscriminate cuts in jobs and costs, with Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona asserting that there’s no evidence that reductions at the GSA resulted in substantial savings. “It’s created costly confusion while undermining the very services taxpayers depend on,” he articulated.
DOGE identified GSA, which had about 12,000 employees at the start of the Trump administration, as a key target of its campaign aimed at reducing fraud, waste, and abuse in the federal government.
A select group of Musk’s trusted aides embedded in GSA’s headquarters pursued plans to cancel almost half of the 7,500 leases in the federal portfolio. DOGE even aimed for GSA to liquidate hundreds of federally owned buildings to generate substantial savings.
Initially, GSA issued more than 800 lease termination notices to landlords, often without informing government tenants, and published a list of government buildings targeted for sale.
DOGE’s massive job cuts produced little savings
Pushback against GSA’s lease terminations was immediate, leading many initiatives to be rolled back. Over 480 leases that were set for termination by DOGE have since been preserved. These leases pertain to offices occupied by crucial agencies such as the IRS, Social Security Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration.
DOGE’s original assertion that lease cancellations would result in nearly $460 million in savings has now been revised to only $140 million, reflecting the ongoing challenges faced by GSA, as noted by Becker, the former GSA real estate official.
Moreover, GSA underwent significant staff reductions, decreasing its headquarters personnel by nearly 79%, portfolio managers by 65%, and facilities managers by 35%, according to a federal official who requested anonymity. This internal upheaval resulted in 131 leases expiring without the government actually vacating the properties, consequently exposing the agencies to steep fees as property owners have been unable to rent out these spaces to other tenants.
The public may soon gain insight into the situation at the agency, as the Government Accountability Office, an independent congressional watchdog, investigates GSA's management of its workforce, lease terminations, and building disposals, expecting to publish its findings in the coming months.
