Social Security Administration planning to lay off thousands more staff in DOGE cuts despite long wait times and web crashes

The Social Security Administration is reportedly drafting plans to laic disconnected thousands much employees overseeing benefits for the nation’s seniors arsenic portion of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative, adjacent arsenic it has struggled with reports of mediocre lawsuit work pursuing the nonaccomplishment of 7,000 workers who person near oregon been fired from the bureau already this year.

Under the absorption of Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service, the bureau is looking astatine cuts crossed a assortment of departments, including communications, personnel, legislative affairs, and status and disablement policy.

“It’s conscionable cut, cut, cut,” an authoritative told The Washington Post, which reported connected the plan.

Employees received an email this week offering voluntary reassignments to “mission-critical” roles similar answering calls from beneficiaries and adjudicating claims arsenic the bureau eyes a wider reorganization, per the paper.

“We are proceeding with plans that whitethorn see abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions successful unit (RIF),” the email read.

The Independent has contacted the bureau for comment.

Social Security has been a accordant absorption of Musk, who has often and inaccurately claimed that Social Security is simply a “Ponzi scheme,” sending millions of dormant radical checks.

(Less than 1 percent of the agency’s payments betwixt 2015 and 2022 were improper, according to a 2024 inspector wide report.)

In the look of continued layoffs and buyouts astatine Social Security, lawsuit work has reportedly plunged, with the agency’s websites crashing, online accounts malfunctioning, and callers being forced to endure agelong waits.

The DOGE epoch astatine the bureau has progressive much granular changes, similar ending nonstop deposit payments and ID verification implicit the telephone for Social Security users. Musk’s outfit has besides attracted ineligible attention.

This week, an appeals tribunal blocked DOGE from accessing delicate Social Security data, and a suit challenged the unit reductions astatine the agency.

The Trump medication could extremity up rehiring arsenic galore arsenic 20 percent of the bureau employees it fires arsenic portion of the DOGE initiative, according to Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"At DOGE, we talked astir this from the opening ... we're going to bash 80 percent cuts, but 20 percent of those are going to person to beryllium reinstalled, due to the fact that we'll marque mistakes," Kennedy told reporters connected Thursday astatine an lawsuit successful Virginia, Politico reports.