The Trump administration is recalling hundreds of federal employees who were laid off earlier this year under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) , reversing sweeping cuts that left key agencies understaffed and taxpayers footing unexpected costs.
The General Services Administration, which manages thousands of government workplaces, sent notices Friday offering reinstatement to dismissed workers. Those who accept must return to duty Oct. 6, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press. Many of the employees had been off the job for seven months but continued receiving pay, while the agency struggled to cover rent on offices it had tried to shed.
“Ultimately, the outcome was the agency was left broken and understaffed,” said Chad Becker, a former GSA real estate official who now represents property owners with federal leases. He described the GSA as operating in “triage mode” after DOGE’s rapid downsizing.
The reversal marks one of several rollbacks of Elon Musk’s efficiency drive. Earlier this year, the IRS, Labor Department and National Park Service also brought back employees who accepted buyouts or were forced out. Democrats have criticized the broad workforce cuts, saying they created chaos without savings.
Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, the top Democrat overseeing the GSA, said reductions at the agency delivered “no evidence of savings” but instead caused “costly confusion while undermining the very services taxpayers depend on.”
At the start of Trump’s term, GSA had about 12,000 employees. But under DOGE, thousands resigned or took early retirement. Hundreds more were dismissed outright. Musk’s team, including aides who sometimes slept on cots at GSA headquarters, aggressively pursued lease cancellations and building sales. DOGE initially projected $460 million in savings from lease terminations alone but later reduced that estimate to $140 million by July.
More than 480 lease cancellations have since been reversed, sparing office space for the IRS, Social Security Administration and Food and Drug Administration. Yet the disruptions created new costs. A federal official said 131 leases expired without the government leaving the properties, forcing agencies to pay high fees while landlords were unable to rent to other tenants.
The workforce purge also cut GSA headquarters staff by nearly 80%, portfolio managers by 65% and facilities managers by 35%, according to figures shared with AP. “They didn’t have the people they needed to carry out basic functions,” Becker said.
The Government Accountability Office is now reviewing GSA’s handling of its workforce reductions, lease terminations and proposed property sales. A report is expected in the coming months, said GAO official David Marroni.
A GSA spokesperson said in a statement that the agency’s leadership was “making adjustments in the best interest of the customer agencies we serve and the American taxpayers.”
The reinstated workers face a deadline at the end of the week to decide whether to return.
AP
