Overview
- The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has granted a sole-source contract to Workday for a new cloud-based HR platform, effective May 2, 2025, citing operational urgency.
- OPM justified the decision by pointing to fragmented and outdated HR systems that caused payroll errors, benefits disruptions, and unsustainable manual workloads.
- The agency argued that an open bidding process would have delayed the project by six to nine months, risking non-compliance with federal workforce restructuring mandates.
- Workday's pricing was deemed 70% more affordable than the current system, and its experience with Fortune 500 companies was cited as evidence of its scalability.
- The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, continues its workforce overhaul, with 260,000 civil servants exiting and $160 billion in savings claimed, though the accounting has faced scrutiny.