“Musk’s Federal Cuts Backfire: GSA Recalls Fired Workers After Costly Chaos”

 Elon Musk’s federal cost-cutting crusade has hit a wall — and now hundreds of government employees who were laid off in the purge are being asked to return to work.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press, the General Services Administration (GSA) told former employees they have until the end of the week to accept reinstatement. If they do, they’ll report back on Oct. 6 — after what has essentially been a seven-month paid vacation for many. During that time, taxpayers were footing the bill for unused office leases that GSA had slated for termination but never actually shut down.

“The agency was left broken and understaffed,” said Chad Becker, a former GSA official now working in real estate. He described the situation as “triage mode,” blaming Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for cutting too deep, too quickly.

The GSA, created back in the 1940s to manage federal workplaces, was one of DOGE’s biggest targets. Thousands of employees were encouraged to resign or retire early, while hundreds more were outright dismissed. Now, in a stunning reversal, many of those same workers are being told to come back.

And it isn’t just GSA. The IRS, Labor Department, and even the National Park Service have also walked back Musk’s aggressive downsizing plans and begun rehiring employees who were previously pushed out.

Still, the fallout has been costly. Leases expired without federal agencies actually vacating buildings, leaving landlords unable to re-rent the properties and sending fees soaring. At one point, DOGE bragged its cuts would save nearly $460 million, but that number has since been downgraded to just $140 million. Meanwhile, critics argue the chaos has cost taxpayers more than it saved.

Democrats in Congress have blasted the cuts as reckless. “It’s created costly confusion while undermining the very services taxpayers depend on,” said Rep. Greg Stanton of Arizona, the ranking Democrat overseeing GSA.

Behind the scenes, Musk’s trusted DOGE aides even embedded themselves in GSA’s headquarters — reportedly sleeping on cots — while trying to cancel thousands of leases and sell off government buildings for fast cash. But pushback has forced most of those plans to stall or reverse.

Now, with the Government Accountability Office launching an investigation, the public may soon get the full picture of how Musk’s slash-and-burn approach at GSA backfired — and why the agency is now scrambling to patch the holes.