Dozens gather at Baltimore County Tesla to protest Trump, Musk's mass layoffs
Federal workers, community activists and union leaders in Baltimore County joined a nationwide movement on Wednesday to push back against the Trump administration's mass layoffs along with Elon Musk's role.
Dozens gathered with signs at the Tesla dealership on Reisterstown Road in Owings Mills to voice their concerns.
"We're here to use our voices in the most democratic way that you can, which is to send a direct message to people who are seeking to take away things that you rely on, jobs and money out of your pocket," said labor organizer Kevin Gallagher.
The Federal Unionist Network was behind the "Save Our Services Day of Action," which called for an end to the ongoing mass firing and service cuts.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla who serves as a senior advisor to the president and is categorized as a special government employee, has been leading the White House's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is a task force focused on cutting federal spending. However, the White House has claimed in a court filing that Musk is not an employee of DOGE and has "no actual or formal authority to make government decisions himself."
CBS News reports that more than 6,000 Internal Revenue Service employees are expected to get fired by the end of the week, the latest in a round of cuts targetting federal employees.
The Trump administration and the Office of Personnel Management have issued a directive to cut probationary workers across federal agencies, according to CBS News. The federal government's probationary workers are generally still in a trial period that typically extends for one to two years of employment in their position.
Before probationary worker cuts at several agencies began last week, federal employees were offered a "deferred resignation" buyout program by the Trump administration, which offered employees the option to resign and go on administrative leave while retaining their pay and benefits until Sept. 30.
"We definitely plan on coming back for as long as it takes to see some change happen," Gallagher said. "We are all actively working to make sure that we can be out here for as long as it takes."
