They are not going to do anything about it.

The issue was closed last month. Some vocal people complained, then the PM reopened but made it clear that federation is not their priority: https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/11247#note_2603...

Indeed. But all the work done before that are community contributions. They reopened to allow that kind of work to continue. If there's enough community interest, then Gitlab will become a federated forge most likely.