Major U.S. departments have ordered their employees not to comply with the requirement outlined in an email Saturday as part of Elon Musk’s cost-cutting initiative. The message asked them to explain exactly what they had achieved in the past week. About this informs BBC.
In the letter, employees were asked to describe their achievements in the past week in five points, without disclosing classified information. Musk said a lack of response by midnight Monday would be considered a dismissal. The email was sent to millions of federal employees on February 22.
The FBI, the State Department and the Pentagon were among the agencies that instructed their staff not to respond to the request. Some department heads recommended compliance, while others advised employees to wait for further guidance before responding.
In a separate email, newly appointed FBI Director Kesh Patel ordered subordinates to “suspend all responses.” The State Department sent a similar message, clarifying that the agency would respond on behalf of all employees.
“No employee is required to report their activities outside their department’s chain of command,” – said in the e-mail of Tybor Nagy, who performs the duties of the deputy minister for management.
The Pentagon said in its instructions:
“When and if necessary, the Department will coordinate responses to the email you received from OPM.”
Employees of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency received similar instructions.
