DOGE working on updated version of decades-old Pentagon software that may accelerate Federal job cuts, claims report

The US government is reportedly preparing to deploy new software, developed under Elon Musk's DOGE initiative, that could significantly accelerate mass layoffs across federal agencies. According to a report by Reuters, The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk has completed an updated version of decades-old Pentagon software, designed to streamline mass layoffs across federal agencies.The updated toll called Workforce Reshaping toll is said to accelerate the job cuts.Originally called AutoRIF (Reduction in Force), the software was created 25 years ago by the Pentagon. However, as per the Reuters report, under DOGE’s directive, the developers at the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have transformed it into a web-based system. This will now enable the agencies to recognise the target and speed up the manual process of layoffs. Since January 2025, approximately 260,000 federal employees have either accepted buyouts, taken early retirement, or been laid off. The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing to cut 80,000 jobs, while the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) plans to reduce its workforce by 40%.The report also mentions that despite Elon Musk’s recent decision to step back from DOGE to focus on Tesla and his other ventures, the software rollout is proceeding under OPM’s leadership. The agency will soon begin demonstrations, user testing, and onboarding for federal departments.However, the legal experts have warned that the automated system could lead to widespread dismissals, potentially removing thousands of federal employees with minimal oversight.Don Moynihan, a professor at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy told Reuters, "If you automate bad assumptions into a process, then the scale of the error becomes far greater than an individual could undertake. It won't necessarily help them to make better decisions and it won't make those decisions more popular.”