Federal employees told to justify jobs in email or Musk says they face dismissal

Federal workers began receiving emails Saturday asking them to explain what work they did last week, as Elon Musk announced that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.”

In President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s latest move targeting the federal workforce, employees began receiving emails Saturday asking them to explain what work they did last week, as Musk announced that “failure to respond will be taken as a resignation.” “Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager. Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments,” reads the email, which comes from the Office of Personnel Management’s HR email address but has no signature. The email’s subject line reads: “What did you do last week?” CNN has obtained copies of emails sent to federal employees in multiple agencies. Many were sent with high importance or red exclamation marks. The email blast came on the heels of a social media post by Musk threatening the jobs of workers who do not comply. “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 Saturday on X, hours after Trump suggested he be more “aggressive.” However, the email itself does not state that failure to answer will be taken as resignation. It says the deadline for submission is Monday at 11:59 p.m. ET.