The General Services Administration cleaved one of its technology units Saturday morning as part of a Trump administration directive to cull the federal workforce and reduce government spending.

The agency announced the cut to the 18F office — which employs researchers, website designers and product managers — on Saturday at around 1 a.m., according to an internal email obtained by POLITICO.

The cuts affected about 70 product and account managers; procurement specialists; user interface engineers; researchers; and front-end, content and service designers, said a GSA manager who, like other government workers in this story, spoke anonymously to avoid retribution. About two dozen more 18F employees were slashed in February when the agency cut probationary staffers.

The 18F department was responsible for building key government services like Login.gov, the central login system for programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This work touches many agencies, which means cuts here could have a ripple effect across the government.

“This decision was made with explicit direction from the top […]