Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated more than 300,000 federal jobs. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images file) (Brendan Smialowski) After he applied to his 599th job, John Burg stopped counting. Burg was laid off as a contractor for the U.S. Agency for International Development in January 2025, after a decades-long career that took him to Thailand, Kosovo and El Salvador.