WASHINGTON: Elon Musk, the billionaire advisor to Donald Trump, mentioned on Saturday (Feb 22) that every one US federal workers should justify their work or lose their jobs, hours after the president pushed him to be “more aggressive” in slashing authorities spending.
Musk – the world’s richest individual and Trump’s greatest donor – has led the trouble to fireside swathes of the federal government workforce.
“All federal workers will shortly obtain an e mail requesting to know what they acquired finished final week. Failure to reply shall be taken as a resignation,” Musk wrote.
Based on a duplicate of the e-mail offered to AFP, federal staff have been requested to submit “approx 5 bullets of what you achieved final week”.
The e-mail, with the topic line “What did you do final week?”, got here from the US Workplace of Personnel Administration (OPM). The deadline to answer was 11.59 pm on Monday, although the message didn’t say failure to take action would result in termination.
The OPM didn’t instantly reply to AFP’s request for touch upon Saturday night.
The American Federation of Authorities Workers (AFGE), the biggest federal worker union, vowed to problem any illegal terminations in an announcement from nationwide president Everett Kelley.
Kelley slammed Musk and the Trump administration, saying the transfer confirmed “their utter disdain for federal workers and the vital companies they supply to the American individuals”.
“It’s merciless and disrespectful to a whole bunch of hundreds of veterans who’re carrying their second uniform within the civil service to be compelled to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has by no means carried out one single hour of trustworthy public service in his life,” he mentioned.
A number of federal workers informed AFP they have been suggested by their companies not to answer the e-mail and look ahead to additional instruction, a advice echoed by the Nationwide Treasury Workers Union.
