By Alexandra Alper and Tim Reid
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – It was a scene some federal workers found upsetting and tone deaf.
Under government-wide orders to end work-from-home arrangements and return to the office, employees in the Office of Personnel Management were shocked to be greeted on Monday with bowls of candy, balloons, handshakes from managers and people snapping their pictures, said three people familiar with the scene.
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Many worked remotely for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Employees in the office, the government’s human resources HQ, say they can do most of their work remotely.
It was the first day remote federal workers who live up to 50 miles (80 km) from Washington had to report for work under orders from President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk to drastically downsize the federal workforce.
Six weeks into Trump’s second White House term, many were still reeling from the firings of their colleagues as part of the Republican president’s drive to slash and reshape the federal bureaucracy.
The Office of Personnel Management is the very nerve center of the government downsizing effort.
On Friday, OPM workers who took a government buyout returned their equipment and left the building for the last time. All the agency’s recent hires have been fired and many other career staff have been sent termination notices.
OPM will not say how many in total have either been fired or taken buyouts but one source put the figure at 650 of the agency’s total 3,300 staff.
Bowls of candy were laid out, party balloons flew and OPM workers took pictures and video of them being greeted in the main lobby by acting administrator Chuck Ezell and chief of Staff Amanda Scales, the people added.
Ezell has been a central figure in executing the plans of Musk’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency.
One worker, who declined to be identified for fear of retribution, said, “Being greeted with cameras in our faces and handshakes from the very people whose names have been on all of the memos and emails focused on undermining our agency and demeaning our work felt tone-deaf at best and mean-spirited at worst.”
A second worker described the scene as jarring and a third described it as disgusting.
OPM was swiftly taken over by DOGE after Trump took office in January. It harbors the databases with the personal details of past and present government employees.
McLaurine Pinover, an OPM spokesperson, defended the welcome-back effort.
“OPM wanted to ensure employees returning to work at OPM HQ were warmly welcomed back. OPM is committed to making the workplace an engine for public service excellence,” Pinover told Reuters in an emailed statement.
Pinover pointed to a post by Ezell on Musk’s X social media platform on Monday.
“Great to welcome employees back to the office this morning!” Ezell wrote. “Our federal workforce is the backbone of public service, and I’m grateful for all you do to serve the American people. Your dedication and commitment make a real difference every day.”
At least 100,000 workers have taken buyouts or been fired after DOGE was created by Trump to gut federal staffing and spending.
Civilian federal employee numbers stand at about 2.3 million. Thousands more termination notices have been issued in multiple government agencies in recent days.
(Reporting by Alexandra Alper and Tim Reid, Editing by Ross Colvin and Howard Goller)
