Will federal workers lose jobs if they fail Musk’s 48-hour ultimatum?

New York: Hundreds of federal workers have been given just 48 hours to account for their accomplishments over the past week, triggering confusion across key agencies as billionaire Elon Musk intensifies his push to downsize the federal government.

Musk, who serves as President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting chief, announced the extraordinary directive on his social media platform, X, on Saturday.

“Consistent with President @realDonaldTrump’s instructions, all federal employees will shortly receive an email requesting to understand what they got done last week,” Musk posted. “Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

Shortly after, federal employees—including judges, court staff, and federal prison officials—received a three-line email instructing them to provide a summary of their weekly accomplishments. The message read: “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.” The deadline was set for Monday at 11:59 pm, though the email did not include Musk’s threat of automatic resignation for non-compliance.

Confusion and chaos across agencies

The order caused widespread confusion across multiple government agencies, including the National Weather Service, the State Department, and the federal court system. Senior officials scrambled to verify the message’s authenticity, with some advising employees not to respond.

Thousands of government employees have already been dismissed or offered buyouts since Trump’s return to office. Agencies, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, Health and Human Services, and the National Park Service, have been affected by what the administration calls “large-scale reductions in force.”

Labour Unions condemn the ultimatum

Labour unions swiftly condemned the directive, with the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) threatening legal action.

AFGE President Everett Kelley criticised the order, calling it an example of Trump and Musk’s “utter disdain for federal employees and the critical services they provide to the American people.”

“It is cruel and disrespectful to hundreds of thousands of veterans who are wearing their second uniform in the civil service to be forced to justify their job duties to this out-of-touch, privileged, unelected billionaire who has never performed one single hour of honest public service in his life,” Kelley said. “AFGE will challenge any unlawful terminations of our members and federal employees across the country.”

Musk wields ‘Chainsaw for Bureaucracy’

On Friday, Musk celebrated his new role by appearing at a conservative gathering wielding a giant chainsaw. “The chainsaw for bureaucracy,” he called it, adding, “Waste is pretty much everywhere” in the federal government.

Uncertainty over the next steps

McLaurine Pinover, spokesperson for the Office of Personnel Management, confirmed Musk’s directive and said that individual agencies would “determine any next steps.”

When asked how agencies would handle employees who were on leave or vacation, she reiterated that it would be left to individual departments.

Meanwhile, federal court officials have advised employees not to respond to the email.

“We understand that some judges and judiciary staff have received an email ... directing the recipient to reply with 5 accomplishments from the prior week. Please be advised that this email did not originate from the Judiciary or the Administrative Office and we suggest that no action be taken,” court officials said in a message.

Judges had previously received emails from Musk’s team in late January, apparently by mistake, according to US District Judge Randolph Daniel Moss. Moss confirmed he received a similar email and ignored it.

National Weather Service responds

The National Weather Service also addressed the confusion in a message to its employees late Saturday.

“Within the last few hours, some of us—potentially all of us—received an email message titled ‘What did you do last week?’ Until such time as we can verify that the message that was received at or around 4:46 pm ET is authentic, please do not respond.”

The agency thanked employees for their “continued support and dedication ensuring public safety and the national security of our country.”

AP