Musk exits DOGE, leaving agencies threadbare, workers strained

Brendan Demich and his team of research engineers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in Pittsburgh were racing to complete a virtual reality program to help train miners on what to do in an emergency underground. They feared that soon, time would run out, and Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency would throw them out of work.

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"You're calling on an incredible day," Demich said while speaking with a reporter on the phone on May 2. The night before, his group had finished a stable version of their simulator, which could teach thousands of workers how to assist each other in the event of a mine collapse, explosion or fire.

"Nobody else in the world is doing this kind of thing," Demich said. "And it's basically going to get shelved."

Hours later, Demich, along with nearly everyone else at his agency, learned he was out of a job.

The fallout from DOGE's campaign to downsize the federal workforce is continuing to unfold. After a wave of summary firings, layoffs and buyout offers, thousands of federal employees are expected to leave their jobs in the weeks ahead. Many are warning that the ways in which Musk and the Trump administration made the cutbacks are likely to lead to unintended consequences.

Following a monthslong crusade that tore at the roots of the federal bureaucracy, the billionaire entrepreneur posted Wednesday about his decision on X, his social media website. "As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," he wrote. "The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

Even before entering government, Musk had a track record of reinventing his businesses through severe job cuts and cost-saving measures. His tactics echo a brand of harsh corporate capitalism that won plaudits in the 1980s and 1990s.