Hundreds of General Services Administration (GSA) employees laid off earlier this year have received offers to return, The Associated Press reported Wednesday.
The former employees have until the end of this week to accept the offer from the GSA, and they would restart work at the agency Oct. 6. The GSA constructs, manages and preserves government buildings.
The agency was an early target of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was created by President Trump and led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Earlier this year, thousands of GSA employees either resigned, accepted early retirement offers or were pushed out.
In total, more than 201,000 federal government employees have departed since Trump took office in January, according to tracking by the Partnership for Public Service. Scores employees who either resigned or were laid off at the IRS, Labor Department and National Park Service have also been reinstated, according to the AP.
In March, the GSA listed nearly 450 federal buildings it may seek to sell. There are 45 sites still listed as “assets identified for accelerated disposition” on the GSA website.
The GSA also sent nearly 800 lease cancellation notices to landlords and failed to inform some government tenants of the notices, AP reported in March. But the leases of 131 federal buildings expired without the government departing, incurring fees that are passed on to taxpayers, according to the AP’s reporting Monday.
On its website, DOGE boasts of roughly $206 billion in savings, which amounts to about $1,279.50 per taxpayer. However, CNN reported in February that the entity’s reporting of its cost-cutting endeavors contained discrepancies.
The White House directed The Hill to the GSA for comment.
“GSA’s leadership team has comprehensively considered workforce actions and is making adjustments in the best interest of the customer agencies we serve and the American taxpayers,” a GSA spokesperson said in a statement sent to The Hill. “When we talk about the size and scope of this, it’s important to understand that the majority of our separations have been voluntary – the employee’s choice.”
