GSA Reverses Course: After Laying Off Thousands, Agency Now Hires Hundreds of Employees in Major Turnaround

As the dust settles on a tumultuous period marked by significant layoffs and restructuring efforts within the General Services Administration (GSA), the agency is now poised to make a major comeback. In a stunning about-face, GSA’s Public Building Service (PBS) division has announced plans to hire hundreds of new employees, a move that marks a significant shift from the widespread cuts implemented just last year.

According to an email obtained by WIRED, PBS chief of staff Donna Dix informed employees that the agency is hiring “approximately 400 positions” across its facilities management, acquisition, and project management teams. This latest development comes as welcome news for many who had been affected by the previous rounds of layoffs, which saw thousands of federal employees lose their jobs.

The email emphasized that this new hiring effort will focus on addressing the agency’s most significant areas of need, with a particular emphasis on filling gaps in facilities management, acquisition, and project management. This renewed commitment to staffing comes as no surprise given the GSA’s critical role in managing the government’s IT department and real estate holdings.

The hiring spree marks a notable reversal from earlier this year, when the agency was instructed to implement deep cuts in response to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The DOGE effort, championed by Elon Musk, had far-reaching consequences for the federal workforce, with thousands of employees losing their jobs and hundreds of government buildings put up for sale.

One notable property on the chopping block was a sensitive complex housing a CIA facility in Northern Virginia. While the GSA had initially planned to sell off more than 500 government buildings, it ultimately walked back those plans and instead focused on assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) expand across the US by leasing offices throughout the country.

This latest development is not the first time that PBS has announced plans to rehire or replace federal employees cut as a result of DOGE. In September, hundreds of PBS employees were given the opportunity to return to work months after they accepted a deferred resignation offer, effectively making their half-year separation an extended vacation.

The significance of this hiring effort cannot be overstated, particularly in light of the recent layoffs and restructuring efforts that had far-reaching consequences for the federal workforce. As GSA continues to navigate these changes, it is clear that the agency is committed to building a stronger, more robust team capable of meeting its critical mission objectives.

In related news: Stephen Ehikian, the former acting head of the GSA, left the agency in September 2025 after conducting extensive layoffs. As of last May, 2,100 workers took deferred resignation and 1,000 more were laid off. After leaving the government, Ehikian moved into the private sector, running the enterprise AI firm C3 AI, which earlier this year announced significant cuts to its workforce.

Analysis based on: https://www.wired.com/story/doge-cuts-gsa-plans-to-hire-hundreds-of-employees/