'Agencies often have more software licences than employees': DOGE cites example of General Services Administration

President Donald Trump backed Elon Musk’s demand that federal employees explain their recent accomplishments or risk getting fired

The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has said agencies often have more software licenses than employees.

In a post on X, DOGE gave the example of General Services Administration (GSA). “Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer). For example, at GSA, with 13,000 employees, there are: - 37,000 WinZip licenses - 19,000 training software subscriptions (and multiple parallel training software platforms) -7,500 project management software seats for a division with 5,500 employees - 3 different ticketing systems running in parallel Fixes are actively in work,” it stated on X.

Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer). For example, at GSA, with 13,000 employees, there are:- 37,000 WinZip licenses- 19,000 training software subscriptions (and multiple
Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) February 24, 2025

In the memo from acting GSA administrator Stephen Ehikian, according to a draft obtained by Fox News Digital, the agency thanked those employees who decided to be part of the "first step" of staff reduction on Friday by resigning from GSA and previewed the "next step of this process in support of the Presidential Executive Order: Implementing The President's Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative, The White House, dated February 11, 2025."

"This serves as notice that the agency will be conducting a Reduction in Force (RIF) and is seeking approval from Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to obtain a Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)," the email stated. "More information on impacted business units and employees will be forthcoming."

What is GSA?

The GSA is an independent body which acts like the federal government’s real estate broker. It was established in 1949 to streamline administrative duties of procuring workplaces for federal employees that had to that point been handled by a variety of entities.

Initially, in the wake of World War II, the GSA was tasked with disposing of war surplus goods and stockpiling strategic supplies for use in wartime. Currently, it handles the acquisition of workplaces for more than 1 million federal civilian workers, oversees preservation of hundreds of historic buildings and manages government purchases from commercial vendors, according to AP News.