This past weekend, Elon Musk issued a tweet that indicated a substantial shift for federal employees – they are expected to account for their work output on a weekly basis. Failure to provide such a report, according to Musk, would be perceived as an implicit decision to resign. This move comes as part of a larger string of personnel changes within various federal departments since the commencement of Trump’s presidency earlier this year.
Government budgetary slash is a primary goal for the present administration, with Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, assigned to helm the mission focused on trimming costs. In a recently posted tweet, Musk elaborated on an upcoming change: every federal employee will need to detail their productivity of the past week. Failing to fulfill this request would be tantamount to a voluntary departure from their position.
Elon Musk, in another missive shared on Twitter over the weekend, reiterated his recent advice. He stated that these employees are soon expected to receive an email asking them to share their weekly accomplishments. Warnings were underscored that non-compliance with this request would lead to the assumption of a resignation. The tweet read, ‘Consistent with President Trump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week.’
Adding a sense of urgency to the situation, Musk’s tweet advised, ‘Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.’ This requirement was made public mere hours after President Trump had lauded Musk for his excellent work so far, but nudged for him to adopt a more aggressive approach. Responding to Trump’s tweet, Musk replied, ‘Will do, Mr. President!’
An incoming email to all federal employees, as relayed by Musk, will ask for details about their output during the previous week. The expected response will require the listing of around five key accomplishments from the week prior. It is expected that they will share this report with their respective managers.
The email will also specify a deadline for this task, set for 11:59 p.m. EST on Monday. However, at this stage, there is still ambiguity about which federal employees would receive the email.
This is in conjunction with a sustained trend of staff shake-ups within the federal departments spanning the last few weeks. Ever since Trump’s inauguration in January, one of his primary objectives has been to streamline federal spending. In an interesting turn of events, Musk, the renowned entrepreneur, has been chosen to head an innovative division dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short.
DOGE is responsible for identifying and prioritizing areas inside federal spending that can be reduced or better organized. As an unwelcome side effect, several federal government employees have been laid off or let go during these ongoing shuffle.
The federal government currently employs approximately 2.4 million civilians. Out of this number, nearly a fifth are based in and around the Washington, D.C. region. Despite the significant number of changes, there aren’t any official specifics available regading the precise number of employees who have been dismissed or laid off.
As per the information available on the department’s website, by mid-February 2025, DOGE had succeeded in saving an estimated $55 billion. Such a feat is explained as an outcome of various efficiency measures such as fraud detection and removal, elimination and negotiation of contracts or leases, sale of assets, cutting grants, labor force scale-backs, alterations in programs, and regulation-based savings.