Elon Musk’s team has begun firing federal IT workers at the US Digital Service (USDS), citing President Donald Trump’s January 20 executive order establishing DOGE as the reason for the terminations. Over a dozen employees have received termination letters, and many more are expected to be affected.
The USDS had previously worked on various projects, including helping to rebuild the Education Department’s federal student aid portal after its revamp went awry last year. However, since Musk’s team took over, the group has been used primarily as a vehicle for hiring new employees.
Despite the fact that the digital service and Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency are technically the same entity, USDS employees have been working in limbo for weeks. The termination letters sent to affected employees cite “restructuring and changes to USDS’s mission” as the reason for their dismissal.
The dismissals are part of a wave of thousands of terminations across the federal government, many of which involve probationary employees who have worked for less than a year. Remaining USDS employees were recently told that they must return to a physical office by April 15.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/elon-musks-doge-begins-firing-workers-at-federal-it-department-in-us-101739669107534.html