Social Security Administration aims to cut about 7,000 jobs, prompting fears of customer service impact
CNN
Calling its workforce “bloated,” the Social Security Administration announced Friday plans to slash about 7,000 jobs, or roughly 12% of its staff. The potential cuts are part of a larger reorganization at the agency in line with the Trump administration’s drive to downsize the federal government.
Calling its workforce “bloated,” the Social Security Administration announced Friday plans to slash about 7,000 jobs, or roughly 12% of its staff. The potential cuts are part of a larger reorganization at the agency in line with the Trump administration’s drive to downsize the federal government. The move comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly promised not to touch Social Security benefits. However, a key employee union, advocates and Democratic lawmakers are raising concerns that deep staffing cuts will hurt customer service. What’s more, the reduction will hit at a time when the number of Americans receiving Social Security benefits is soaring, as the tail end of the Baby Boom generation reaches retirement age. More than 73 million people receive monthly payments from the agency. “We’re at a 50-year staffing low, and we’re serving the highest number of beneficiaries we’ve ever had in the history of this agency,” said Rich Couture, a spokesperson for the American Federation of Government Employees’ Social Security General Committee. “All of this will adversely undermine the ability of SSA to fulfill its responsibilities to the American people for the provision of Social Security benefits.” The agency’s swift reorganization is being led by Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner whom Trump named to the post less than two weeks ago. He was a mid-level career staffer at Social Security before being elevated, and he is aggressively reshaping the agency as Trump’s nominee, Frank Bisignano, awaits Senate confirmation. Dudek had been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation earlier in February for working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, but the president instead decided to put him in the top job temporarily.
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