Social Security notifies employees of 'significant workforce reductions'

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is notifying employees of “significant workforce reductions” on the way as it prepares for what it describes as an “agency-wide organizational restructuring” amid reports that thousands of workers could be let go.

The agency said this week that offices that perform functions that aren’t “mandated by statute may be prioritized for reduction-in-force actions that could include abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing.”

“The agency may reassign employees from non-mission critical positions to mission critical direct service positions (e.g., field offices, teleservice centers, processing centers),” the SSA said. “Reassignments may be involuntary and may require retraining for new workloads.”

A source also told NewsNation that the agency is planning to remove more than 100 employees focused on civil rights and equal opportunity. In notices to the employees, acting Commissioner Leland Dudek told staffers they would be placed on administrative leave as a “notice of proposed removal.”

“This notice is a proposal and not a decision. You will be notified of my decision in writing,” the notice read. “From the date that you receive this notice of proposed removal to the date of the decision is a notice period. You will be placed on administrative leave effective immediately until a final decision is made and implemented. My decision letter will provide you with the effective date of your removal.”

“You have the right to respond to this notice of proposed suspension orally, in writing, or both. You must make your response within twenty-five (25) days of the date that you receive this notice,” the notice continued.

This notice also stated the proposal “is for cause and will promote the efficiency of the federal service in accordance” with President Trump’s “Commencing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy” executive order issued earlier this month.

The Hill has reached out to the SSA for further comment.

Roughly 20,000 probationary federal employees have been axed in recent weeks as the Trump administration ramps up firings. That covers new hires and employees who were newly promoted.

Among the list of agencies where employees have been targeted are the departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, Interior and Education. Democrats have also sounded the alarm over reports the SSA is planning to layoff thousands of staff members.

The Associated Press reported earlier this week, citing sources familiar, that the SSA was planning to let go of a minimum of 7,000 workers, or roughly 12 percent of its workforce.

Democrats have already been sounding alarm over the reports, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) warning ahead of a March 14 shutdown deadline that “any bipartisan spending agreement has to protect the administration of these earned benefits.”

In its recent message to employees, the agency also said it’s offering “voluntary separation incentives” to workers, including options for “voluntary early retirement” or “incentive payments” for eligible employees.

The notice comes after a senior Trump administration official said earlier this month that upward of 70,000 federal employees have taken its buyout offers, even as the White House is battling efforts to counter the president’s orders tangled up in the courts.

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