April 12, 2025
The transfer to shift bulletins solely to its social media account comes because the SSA plans to chop practically all its employees.
On April 10, the Social Safety Administration indicated that it might be utilizing Elon Musk’s social media platform X (Twitter) to make bulletins going ahead as a substitute of posting memos or press releases to its web site, which spurred some outraged reactions on-line.
In keeping with Wired, the transfer to shift bulletins solely to its social media account comes because the SSA plans to chop practically all its employees—as a lot as 87% of its employees–the transfer might additionally negatively affect the flexibility of remaining staffers to do their jobs.
As one nameless worker indicated to the outlet, it’s outstanding that an company that primarily serves senior residents appears to count on them to navigate smartphones or social media platforms to get important updates.
“Do they actually count on senior residents will be a part of this platform?” one present worker requested. “Most managers aren’t even on it. How isn’t this a battle of curiosity?”
Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “Proper, as a result of Grandma is on X. That is corruption, plain and easy.”
One other worker raised issues concerning the general public going with out important updates, “This may make sure that the general public doesn’t get the knowledge they should keep up-to-date.”
In the meantime, in a gathering with managers through the week of April 11, Linda Kerr-Davis, the SSA Regional Commissioner, appeared to point an absence of forethought about how the nation’s seniors would entry essential data.
“We’re not planning to difficulty press releases or these pricey colleague letters to tell the media and public about programmatic and repair modifications,” Kerr-Davis mentioned. “As a substitute, the company can be utilizing X to speak to the press and the general public…so this may develop into our communication mechanism.”
Liz Huston, a White Home spokesperson, tried to spin each of those developments, telling Wired that their reporting was deceptive.
“This reporting is deceptive. The Social Safety Administration is actively speaking with beneficiaries and stakeholders,” Huston mentioned. “There has not been a discount in workforce. Slightly, to enhance the supply of providers, employees are being reassigned from regional places of work to front-line assist – allocating finite sources the place they’re most wanted. President Trump will proceed to at all times defend Social Safety.”
The company at present staffs 547 workers throughout virtually a dozen regional places of work, however after the cuts, that quantity is predicted to dwindle right down to roughly 70 workers, which Kerr-Davis appeared to acknowledge would disrupt how the workload is dealt with by the SSA’s workers.
“We all know that you simply all depend upon these of us to handle your entrance line, to assist with questions,” mentioned Kerr-Davis, who works out of the Kansas Metropolis regional workplace. “I’m going to be fairly candid right here in sharing that the assist can be fairly minimal till we are able to get up our skinny regional workplace.”
She continued, studying a query from one staffer earlier than continuing together with her reply. “Received’t dropping subject material specialists lead on to fraud, waste, and abuse?” the staffer requested.
Kerr-Davis answered, “And sure, I imply, we do depend on [their] assist…Issues are going to interrupt, and so they’re going to interrupt quick.” Kerr-Davis additionally indicated that the directive had come from above her pay grade, telling workers “I do know this most likely sounds very international to you. It did to me as nicely. It’s not what we’re used to, however we’re in numerous occasions now.”
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