Elon Musk's recent rebranding of the US Digital Service (USDS) as the US DOGE Service has sparked significant upheaval within the organization. On Friday evening, approximately 50 employees, including product managers and designers, were dismissed from their positions. This move has drawn criticism from Anne Marshall, the now-former director of data science and engineering at USDS, who has resigned in protest.
In a meeting aimed at addressing the future of the organization, representatives from DOGE, Amy Gleason and Kendall Lindemann, engaged with legacy USDS employees. The discussions highlighted a major shift, with plans to integrate the previously separated DOGE members and legacy staff. This consolidation marks a stark departure from the previous month's operations, where a "firewall" had been erected between the two groups.
Anne Marshall, who joined USDS in September 2023 after more than a decade at Amazon, expressed her discontent with the changes. She was promoted to director in December but resigned after serving just two months in the role. Marshall criticized the firings as "shortsighted, ill-informed, and indiscriminate," warning that such actions would disadvantage both the government and the American populace.
"Unfortunately, DOGE chose to fire one third of them last week. These cuts were shortsighted, ill-informed, and indiscriminate. The government and the American people will be worse off from the loss of these people." – Marshall
The confusion extends beyond layoffs, with multiple legacy USDS employees uncertain about the identity of their acting administrator despite repeated inquiries. Joshua Fisher, director of the White House Office of Administration, clarified in a lawsuit that Elon Musk is not leading DOGE as its formal administrator. Instead, Musk serves as a "senior advisor" to the president without any greater authority than other senior White House advisors.
"I do not believe that DOGE can continue to deliver the work of USDS, based on their actions so far," – Marshall
Gleason and Lindemann assured remaining staff that DOGE plans to take a more hands-on approach in coming weeks. They also announced that the previously distinct teams would merge, further blurring the lines that had kept them separate.
Anne Marshall, reflecting on her tenure at USDS, took to LinkedIn to express her gratitude for having worked with such an exceptional team.
"Today I resigned from the US Digital Service. It has been the greatest privilege of my life to be able to do this work, with this team of amazing people," – Marshall
Leave a Reply