‘Submit work report or lose job’: Elon Musk's new directive for US federal employees

Elon Musk leads the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Billionaire Elon Musk, advisor to US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that all US federal employees may lose their job if they fail to submit a detailed accounting of their work week.

Musk, who has been tasked with the responsibility of helping to reduce US government spending and waste, took to X to announce the new arrangement.

"Consistent with the President's instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week. Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation," Musk said in a post on X.

Thousands of government employees have already been forced out of the federal workforce - either by being fired or offered a buyout - during the first month of Trump's administration as the White House and Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency fire both new and career workers, tell agency leaders to plan for "large-scale reductions in force" and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds.

There is no official figure available for the total firings or layoffs so far , but The Associated Press has tallied hundreds of thousands of workers who are being affected. Many work outside of Washington. The cuts include thousands at the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, the Internal Revenue Service and the National Parks Service, among others.

AFGE President Everett Kelley quickly condemned the ultimatum as an example of Trump and Musk's "utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people".

Thousands of government employees have already been forced out of the federal workforce - either by being fired or offered a buyout - during the first month of Trump's administration as the White House and Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency fire both new and career workers, tell agency leaders to plan for "large-scale reductions in force" and freeze trillions of dollars in federal grant funds.