- The US government's General Services Administration department's 18F has been dissolved
- Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency seems to be behind the cuts
- 18F was a software and procurement group which helped a range of government agencies
A technology unit from the General Services Administration (GSA) has had its budget all but eliminated, affecting around 70 software engineers and strategists, as well as researchers, service designers, and procurements specialists.
The cuts were masterminded by Elon Musk’s Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE), and are part of an ongoing campaign to slash government spending.
Founded in 2014, the Unit, 18F, developed key public-facing IT services, like Login.gov - the central login system for services like Medicaid, Social Security, and Medicare. 18F was also responsible for helping government agencies buy and build technology, improve user experience, and make services accessible, and the unit collaborated with many departments, so the effects of the cuts will be felt across the board.
A sledgehammer approach
The department had previously been labeled as a ‘far left government wide computer office’ by a Musk supporter, to which the de-facto DOGE director replied “That group has been deleted”.
“All 18F's support on that work has now abruptly come to a halt,” the group said in a statement.
“Since the entire staff was also placed on administrative leave, we have been locked out of our computers, and have no chance to assist in an orderly transition in our work. We don’t even have access to our personal employment data. We’re supposed to return our equipment, but can’t use our email to find out how or where.”
These are not the first federal workers to be laid off, with over 110,000 federal employees leaving their posts since Trump took office, although around 77,000 of these accepted the administration’s deferred resignation program.
“Dismantling 18F follows the gutting of the original US Digital Service. These cuts are just the most recent in a series of a sledgehammer approach to the critical US teams supporting IT infrastructure.”
DOGE was also recently hit with a wave of lawsuits following complaints about the department breaching the privacy of millions of Americans by accessing “extraordinarily sensitive” details about federal workers and anyone who has ever applied for a federal job.
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