US CHIPS Act is in trouble: President Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE laid off over 80% of its staff

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The US government has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on its CHIPS Act under the Biden administration, but under the Trump administration -- along with Elon Musk and DOGE -- the CHIPS Act looks to be shelved, and 80% of its staffers have been purged.

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President Trump isn't a fan of the CHIPS Act and has referred to customers getting "Biden money" but in a new report from Korean media, over 120 employees out of the 150 from the US Commerce Department's Chip Program Office (CPO) have either been laid off, or resigned from their positions.

One of the largest names being laid off is former VP of SK hynix that joined CPO as the Chief Economist, Dan Kim, with his departure suggesting that the CHIPS Act won't be focusing on South Korean companies like SK hynix and Samsung (makers of HBM for AI GPUs).

So far, the CHIPS Act has shelled out a hefty $280 billion in grants which includes $52 billion of federal investments and tax breaks for domestic semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing provisions. Intel and TSMC were big beneficiaries of the CHIPS Act, but then there were billions promised to Samsung and SK hynix, with Samsung planning a new facility in Texas.

• Read more: Video might have killed the radio star, but Biden's DEI is killing the CHIPS Act
• Read more: US needs 'CHIPS Act 2' into semiconductor manufacturing to be the best for AI
• Read more: Intel gets $19.5B in funding from CHIPS Act for US semiconductor manufacturing
• Read more: Intel wants another $10 billion from the CHIPS Act and Biden administration

The Elon Musk-led DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) is working towards restructuring US government spending, and it looks like the CHIPS Act is the next thing on the chopping block.