Government Executive reports:

The Social Security Administration in recent days has initiated a flurry of actions aimed at decimating its workforce and that Democrats warn are an effort to sabotage the agency and prepare to privatize its functions.

After a rash of abrupt retirements of senior leaders across the agency last week, the agency on Friday confirmed that it is seeking to shed 7,000 employees, which would bring its workforce down to 50,000 people. Last fall, the agency hit a 50-year staffing low after congressional Republicans refused to agree to append the agency’s funding to account for fixed cost increases as part of a continuing resolution to keep agencies open.

With that came an announcement that the agency will consolidate its current 10 regional offices down to four, as well as reorganize headquarters. And Elon Musk’s DOGE operatives have cancelled the leases for 45 field offices across the country, as well as the Office of Hearings Operations in White Plains, N.Y.

And though the agency’s frontline workforce had previously been spared from most of the Trump administration’s early workforce initiatives, including the deferred resignation program, early retirement offers and the purge of recently hired, promoted or transferred federal workers, on Friday leadership said all agency employees are eligible for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority or Voluntary Separation Incentive Payments, provided they have served long enough to qualify.

Further adding to the confusion was an agency-wide announcement Monday that all non-bargaining unit employees must cease teleworking and commute five days per week beginning Wednesday. [Continue reading…]