GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Metro Atlanta is about to lose more jobs. The Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, is closing at least 44 Social Security Administration offices.
Georgia is slated to lose five offices. Those are located in Brunswick, Columbus, Thomasville, Vidalia, and Gainesville.
The decision is getting mixed reviews.
“These cuts are going to hurt people,” said Congressman Hank Johnson.
Georgia’s GOP leader, Josh McKoon, said, “I don’t think anyone’s going to see or feel an impact on service delivery.”
Friday, the Social Security Administration said staff are reviewing office space leases, like the one on Thompson Bridge Road in Gainesville, to ensure the space is needed.
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A statement said, “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 hearing locations.”
McKoon said he worked benefit cases as an attorney.
“I can count on one hand the number of times I walked into a Social Security Administration office,” said McKoon.
DOGE said packing up and moving out of Gainesville will save more than $500,000 a year.
“These are under-utilized properties. They are not really related to services people are seeking. So, I think it makes an awfully lot of sense to cut here,” said McKoon.
Congressman Johnson said it means fewer workers service 12 million clients in the Atlanta region.
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“It means people are going hungry, families are going hungry, children, elderly, disabled. These Social Security Administration workers are doing a yeoman’s job, and they deserve to get paid,” said Johnson. “They don’t deserve to be threatened with loss of their job by President Trump and his co-president Musk.”
Channel 2 Action News asked the regional social security office staff how many clients use the Gainesville location each year and how many workers stand to lose a job. We are waiting for a response.
“When you start consolidating offices and trying to get more out of fewer and fewer employees, then the services sand the benefits people are receiving, that ability to receive those benefits is degraded,” said Johnson.
He is hosting a pop-up rally to protest the cuts Saturday morning at 11 a.m. at the SSA office on Covington Highway in DeKalb County.
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