Latest news with #costsavings
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Victorian public servants hit back at Labor's planned job cuts with push to curb ‘executive bloat' instead
fb9a0a9052 A group of public servants vying for union leadership roles are pushing back against the Victorian government's mooted public sector job cuts with a cost-saving plan of their own, calling instead for reductions in 'executive bloat', halving consultant spending and reducing office space. The group, known as the Voice for Members (AVFM), will on Tuesday release an 89-page report, dubbed the Gold Review – a nod to the government's review into the Victorian public service (VPS) led by Helen Silver – outlining $13bn in cost-saving and revenue-generating measures. The report argues that large-scale job losses can be avoided in part by 'culling' 450 executive-level roles, which they estimate would save $123m in the 2025–26 financial year and $530.1m over the forward estimates to 2029–30. The report said the number of senior executives at the VPS had 'spiralled out of control', growing from 647 in 2014 to 1,887 in 2024. Over the same period, median executive salaries rose from $190,000 to $269,426 annually. It also recommends halving consultant use, which it says would save $134.9m in 2025–26 and $584.7m by 2029–30, and consolidating government office space, citing the move to hybrid work. The move would save $100m in 2025–26 and $430.9m over the forward estimates. In addition, it calls for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and switching all government banking to a public option, saving $282.1m over the forward estimates. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email To raise revenue, the group proposes introducing a new 0.05% levy on major banks operating in Victoria, which would generate $6.13bn over the forward estimates, and increasing the online betting tax from 15% to 20%, raising $800.6m by 2029–30. Resourcing the State Revenue Office more efficiently to collect existing taxes would also generate $415.6m in 2025–26 and $1.85bn over the forward estimates. The AVFM claims its plan would deliver up to five times the savings expected from the Silver review, which was announced by Jacyln Symes just months after she became treasurer. Symes has said the review aims to reduce duplication and return the VPS to its pre-pandemic size, with anticipated workforce cuts of between 5% and 6% – roughly 2,000 to 3,000 jobs. Frontline roles won't be impacted. In her budget last month, she announced $3.3bn in savings from cutting 1,200 jobs, with more expected following Silver's recommendations, due on 30 June. The Gold Review, however, said the VPS as a proportion of the pubic sector was 'now smaller than its pre-pandemic size'. While it made up 17% of public sector employment in 2021, it was now 14.98%, which is also lower than 15.72% in 2019. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion They also argue that every dollar cut from the public service may yield only 60 cents in 'real savings', once costs from redundancies, increased consultant use and impacts on frontline services are considered. AVFM candidates are running for leadership roles in the Community and Public Sector Union's Victorian branch. For the first time in many years, all positions are being contested, including state secretary, a role Karen Batt has held for more than 30 years. Mitch Vandewerdt-Holman, AVFM candidate for assistant secretary, said the report was complied by a group of public servants over six weeks using public data and 'in their own time'. 'On weekends, weeknights – some people took a little bit of annual leave,' he said. It would be a 'sample of the work' the group would do if elected to convince the government to take a different approach, Vandewerdt-Holman said. 'There are alternatives to public job cuts, and our plan actually achieves what the government's setting out to do in a much better way that doesn't cut jobs, that doesn't make people unemployed.' Ballots for the election will be sent out on 10 June and must be returned by 8 July.
Zawya
14 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Nigeria Issues Upstream Executive Order, Prioritizing High Returns for Oil & Gas Operators
Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed an executive order designed to lower costs and enhance revenue from oil and gas projects. The Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order (2025) introduces performance-based tax incentives for upstream operators and is expected to play an instrumental role in attracting investment, driving development and unlocking greater value from the country's oil and gas resources. As the voice of the African energy sector, the African Energy Chamber (AEC) commends the Nigerian government's continued commitment to not only improving the operating climate for oil and gas firms, but strengthening the competitiveness of doing business in Nigeria. The Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order (2025) is an intentional strategy to transform the country, and with this reform, Nigeria is well-positioned to attract fresh investment across its upstream oil and gas sector – reaffirming the country's position as one of Africa's top producers. The Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order (2025) will feature incentives for operators who deliver verifiable cost savings that meet defined industry benchmarks. The country's upstream regulator the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission will publish the requisite benchmarks on an annual basis and according to asset type. Benchmarks will cover a variety of assets including onshore, shallow-water and deep-water. In addition, the executive order will cap available tax credits at 20% of a company's annual tax liability, thereby protecting the government's revenues as well as fiscal competitiveness. Nigeria's Special Advisor to President Tinubu on Energy Olu Verheijen will spearhead inter-agency coordination, ensuring operators maximize the opportunities presented through the executive order. The executive order could not come at a better time for Nigeria. Targeting two million barrels per day (bpd) in oil production and 12 billion standard cubic feet per day (bscf/d) in gas production – up from the current 7.3 bscf/d – Nigeria requires significant levels of investment in both active fields and exploration blocks. While the country has long-faced investment decline owing to a variety of factors – including regulatory uncertainty and shifts in global spending – recent reforms promise to turn this trend around. The Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order (2025) follows the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in 2021, which sought to address industry challenges by providing a comprehensive framework for the country's oil and gas landscape. With both policies, Nigeria is expected to accelerate investment in exploration and production. The impact of the PIA has already been felt across the country, with energy companies – from majors to independents to the national oil company (NOC – making sizable investments. Renaissance Africa Energy – a consortium of independents – is planning $15 billion in spending across 32 oil and projects; ExxonMobil is investing $1.5 billion to revitalize the Usan deepwater oilfield at OML 138; while TotalEnergies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company is investing $550 million in a non-association gas project. ExxonMobil's Usan field plans to make a final investment decision Q3, 2025. In 2024, the country secured $6.7 billion in investments, with $5.5 billion of this directed towards oil and gas asset acquisitions. Looking ahead, both the PIA (2021) and Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order (2025) are expected to entice greater spending across the market, providing operators with strong fiscals that prioritize high returns. By 2029, Nigeria seeks to unlock $30 billion in oil and $5 billion in gas investments, and the policies are anticipated to serve as a driving force behind this goal. 'This recent executive order is a testament to Nigeria's commitment to strengthening its regulatory landscape, improving fiscals and supporting revenue generation across the oil and gas industry. The order is expected to play a significant role in attracting new investment into the country at a time when national production goals require greater capital and technology injection. The Upstream Petroleum Operations Cost Efficiency Incentives Order (2025) positions the country as a globally competitive hydrocarbon market,' states NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the AEC. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump awards Elon Musk a golden key for his DOGE work as he gives Musk an Oval Office sendoff
President Donald Trump gives tech billionaire Elon Musk a gold-colored key for his work establishing the "Department of Government Efficiency," which sought to layoff federal workers and close government agencies to achieve cost savings.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Musk leaves D.C. with black eye: 5 takeaways from Oval Office sendoff with Trump
Elon Musk arrived in Washington, D.C., with high hopes. He left with a literal and reputational black eye. President Donald Trump marked the end of Musk's tenure as a government employee with an event in the Oval Office May 30, where he thanked the billionaire for his work leading the Department of Government Efficiency and gave him a golden key. 'Elon's delivered a colossal change in the old ways of doing business in Washington,' Trump declared. The warm sendoff came after Musk struggled to unlock cost savings in the federal government, delivering far less than what he promised. He leaves Washington D.C. a much more polarizing figure, the subject of intense criticism and protests that have dinged his business empire. Musk showed up in the Oval Office dressed all in black, from his DOGE hat to his t-shirt and blazer. He also had a black eye given to him by his young son. More: Elon Musk's rise and fall: From Trump's chainsaw-wielding sidekick to a swift exit Musk's DOGE work, meanwhile, left his reputation badly bruised, which formed the subtext of much of the Oval Office gathering. Trump complained about the billionaire suffering "the slings and the arrows" and Musk said DOGE became a "bogeyman." Musk used DOGE to bulldoze through the federal government, shuttering whole agencies and instituting mass layoffs. The result, he said May 30, is about $160 billion in savings so far, far below the $2 trillion he talked about on the campaign trail and $1 trillion he pledged after Trump took office. Critics complained that he hurt vital programs with indiscriminate cutting and nonpartisan researchers calculated that most of the savings will be wiped out by the costs of reinstating workers whose firings were illegal, defending those cases in court, and other effects like lost revenue from shrinking the IRS. The resulting backlash took a toll. The billionaire is now stepping away from his government work to focus more on his businesses such as electric car company Tesla, which was targeted by protesters and has seen sales slip. Here are five takeaways from the Oval Office event. Musk's exit as the DOGE leader came as his designation as a "special government employee" ‒ which allowed him to stay on the job for 130 calendar days a year ‒ ended. "My time as a special government employee necessarily had to end, it was a limited-time thing," Musk said May 30. The billionaire vowed that DOGE's work will continue, though, calling it a "way of life" that is "permeating throughout the government." Musk also said he'll still continue to visit and consult with Trump. 'Elon's really not leaving, he's going to be back and forth… it's his baby," Trump said. Yet Musk has taken steps to distance himself from politics and the Trump administration after a tumultuous period. He recently said he plans to spend "a lot less" money on campaigns − after dropping $290 million getting Trump elected and $20 million on a losing judicial race in Wisconsin − and attracted attention for criticizing Trump's top legislative priority, saying it would add to the deficit and "undermine the work that the DOGE team is doing." The backlash to DOGE hurt Musk's reputation. He also suffered some physical pain recently, the result of "horsing around" with his 5-year-old son, X. "I said, 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did it," Musk said in the Oval Office in explaining his black eye. The injury prompted immediate speculation on social media. Musk's 14 children have been a source of fascination as he stepped into the public spotlight to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, with X spending weeks tagging along in the Oval Office and around Capitol Hill. The Oval Office meeting came the same day the New York Times reported that Musk allegedly frequently used drugs such as ketamine, ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms while campaigning with Trump in 2024. The paper said it was unclear whether Musk used drugs while working for Trump in the Department of Government Efficiency. A reporter tried to ask Musk about his alleged drug use during the 2024 campaign. But Musk dodged the question and criticized the New York Times' reporting on Russian interference in the 2016 election. "Let's move on," Musk said, standing behind the president at the Resolute Desk. Musk, the CEO of carmaker Tesla and rocket company SpaceX, and owner of social-media platform X, acknowledged in March 2024 that he used prescription ketamine to combat bouts of depression. He worried corporate executives by smoking marijuana during a podcast in 2018. The New York Times story built on a Wall Street Journal story in January 2024 that alleged Musk used drugs such as LSD, cocaine, ecstasy and mushrooms. The campaign featured some erratic behavior, such as Musk jumping on stage behind Trump during an October rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Musk didn't respond to reporters' questions related to his drug use, but he has previously acknowledged using "small amount" of ketamine "once every other week" and marijuana "almost never." The New York Times reported that his ketamine use was often enough to affect his bladder. Musk's shiner from his son wasn't the only physical incident that came up during the Oval Office event. Trump offered some advice for French President Emmanuel Macron after a video of Macron's wife apparently shoving him in the face in front of an open plane door went viral: "Make sure the door remains closed." Trump downplayed the incident when asked about it. "He's fine too. They're fine," Trump said. "They're two really good people I know them very well." Macron called speculation about the incident with his wife, Brigitte Macron, "nonsense," saying it showed the couple "joking around." The clip was taken after the couple landed in Hanoi, Vietnam, as part of a Southeast Asia tour. Trump also fielded a question about pardoning the rapper known as Diddy, saying he hadn't been approached about it but not ruling out the clemency move. Fox News Reporter Peter Doocey questioned Trump on May 30 about a possible pardon for Sean Combs, the musician who is on federal trial in New York for racketeering and sex trafficking. The two men have been friends in the past. "Well, nobody's asked," Trump replied. "I know people are thinking about it." Contributing: Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump gives Musk Oval Office sendoff after DOGE turbulence
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
DOGE slashes over $5 million by cutting thousands of unused software licenses
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) saved over $5 million a year after discovering several agencies paid for far more software than they were actually using. For example, the IRS was paying for 3,000 licenses for software but only used 25. Once DOGE discovered the waste, it cut the remaining 99% of the licenses. "Agencies often have more software licenses than employees, and the licenses are often idle (i.e. paid for, but not installed on any computer)," DOGE wrote in a post on X. "These audits have been continuously run since first posted in February." The Department of Labor slashed 68% of unused "project planning" software licenses, DOGE noted, and the Securities and Exchange Commission cut 78% of the remote desktop software programs it was paying for after finding the commission was only using 22% of the programs. According to DOGE, the three changes saved over $5 million a year. DOGE raised a red flag in February that agencies were paying for more software licenses than employees when it shared a post about the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). With 13,000 employees, GSA was paying for 37,000 licenses for WinZip, a program used to archive and compress files. The agency also pays for 19,000 training software subscriptions, 7,500 project management software seats for a division with only 5,500 employees and three different ticketing systems. The most recent post comes as billionaire Elon Musk steps down as the face of DOGE. While DOGE was tasked with cutting $2 trillion from the budget, its efforts led to roughly $175 billion in savings due to asset sales, contract cancellations, fraud payment cuts and other ways to eliminate costs, according to an update on DOGE's website. The savings translate to about $1,087 in per taxpayer, the website notes. Musk told reporters in the Oval Office Friday the savings will continue to build, and he is confident total cuts will amount to $1 trillion in the coming years. "The DOGE influence will only grow stronger," Musk said. "I liken it to a sort of person of Buddhism. It's like a way of life, so it is permeating throughout the government. And I'm confident that, over time, we'll see $1 trillion of savings, and a reduction in $1 trillion of waste, fraud reduction."
