Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has stepped in to offer support to federal tech workers recently impacted by government layoffs. Cuban, on the social media platform Bluesky, encouraged those affected by the government’s tech shake-up to leverage the situation to their advantage.
“If you worked for 18F and got fired, Group together to start a consulting company,” Cuban wrote. “It’s just a matter of time before DOGE needs you to fix the mess they inevitably created. They will have to hire your company as a contractor to fix it. But on your terms. I’m happy to invest and/or help.”
Cuban’s offer comes in the wake of the General Services Administration (GSA) abruptly dismantling its 18F technology unit. This unit was responsible for assisting other government agencies in building, acquiring, and sharing tech products. According to reporting by Politico, approximately 70 individuals learned of their layoffs around 1 a.m. Eastern time on Saturday.
One of 18F’s key projects was Login.gov, a secure and private platform for public access to services at government agencies, including Social Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The layoffs are linked to a Trump administration directive aimed at reducing the federal workforce and cutting spending, carried out by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The administration is accelerating its plan to remove federal workers.
These cuts are not the first for 18F. Politico reported that an additional two dozen 18F employees were laid off in February, impacting probationary staff. The employees affected by the most recent cuts also received a late Friday email from DOGE with the subject line, “What did you do last week? Part II.” The emails requested that employees list their weekly accomplishments by a Monday deadline, according to Politico. The emails were sent across multiple agencies, including the State Department, the IRS, and the NIH.
In response to the layoffs, Cuban’s suggestion presents an intriguing possibility: could the former government employees reshape the future of civic tech independently? DOGE’s actions have prompted acknowledgment of potential negative consequences, even from Elon Musk himself. On Wednesday, Musk noted that, “For example, with USAID, one of the things we accidentally canceled — very briefly — was Ebola prevention.” Public health experts have since indicated that the government’s support has not been fully restored.
The question now, is whether some of the government’s many displaced former employees will band together to build startups that could, in the future, sell their know-how back to the government. If so, it would mark a significant shift in the administration’s efforts to reduce the public workforce. With Cuban’s support, at least one such unit may become a private company that the government will inevitably need to rely on.
Another Bluesky user suggested a name for the new startup, telling Cuban, “Name the new company 18FU.”
