ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock announced that five Social Security Administration offices in Georgia were set to be closed as the Trump Administration moves to overhaul the federal government and its staffing and expenses.
According to the senator’s office, the SSA branches in Brunswick, Columbus, Gainesville, Thomasville and Vidalia will all be permanently closed.
The senator’s office also said that Georgia had, among all 50 states, the most SSA offices to be closed so far.
“For millions of Georgians, Social Security provides a baseline of support and stability. It ensures our seniors, who’ve spent decades paying into the program, can afford rent, groceries, and medication. Permanently closing five Georgia Social Security offices will make it harder for Georgia seniors, especially in rural areas, to enroll in the program, solve payment issues, report fraud, and more,” Warnock said in a statement.
As of January, there were 241,510 Social Security beneficiaries in Georgia.
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Warnock said that the closure would impact Georgians significantly and that “money taken away from Georgia seniors will go towards tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy. I will use every avenue available to fight back against this reckless action and remain focused on getting our seniors the benefits they paid for and rely on to live safe, healthy lives.”
The news comes amid reports that the Social Security Administration’s workforce could downsize by as much as 50%, according to the Associated Press.
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Citing sources, the AP reported Thursday that the SSA would be laying off at least 7,000 of its employees. Currently, the administration has 60,000 employees, but another source, speaking anonymously, told the AP that the staffing reductions could be as high as 50%.
On Thursday, the SSA said they will be implementing an agency-wide restructure, including “significant workforce reductions.”
In addition to “massive reorganizations,” including “abolishment of organizations and positions, directed reassignments, and reductions in staffing,” some employees will be offered opportunities for voluntary reassignment or voluntary separations and early retirements.
The SSA said employees must sign up for voluntary separation by noon on March 14 and leave the agency by April 19. Other employees may be placed on administrative leave through April 19 as well.
The SSA also said that even when volunteering to leave, the incentive payments to do so are not guaranteed.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the Social Security Administration about how staff and residents would be impacted by the closures.
In response to those questions, an SSA spokesperson provided the following statement:
“We are working with GSA to review our leases and ensure they are used efficiently. Most of the leases we are not renewing are for small remote hearing sites that are co-located with other Federal space. As the majority of our hearings are held virtually, we no longer need as many in-person hearings locations. In fact, in FY24, twenty percent of these offices held no in-person hearings. Other offices are non-public facing, being consolidated into nearby locations, or we had planned to close. Social Security continuously monitors and evaluates the use of our office space to maximize efficiency for the American taxpayer. Please contact GSA if you have further questions.”
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