By Nathan Layne and Tim Reid

(Reuters) – The Social Security Administration (SSA) could face further staff reductions beyond the 7,000 already targeted. This stems from the Trump administration’s decision to reclassify federal employees, making terminations easier, according to worker advocates.

President Donald Trump announced plans to designate tens of thousands of federal workers as “at will” employees, stripping them of their civil service protections. This decision has drawn attention to an email from Acting Social Security Commissioner Leland Dudek, which outlined efforts to convert various SSA positions to a new “schedule policy/career” classification.

In the email dated April 7, Dudek directed staff to reclassify key departments, such as the Chief Information Officer and Disability Determinations offices. Union leaders argue that many employees in those departments do not engage in policy-making and warn that this shift could facilitate the firing of thousands more SSA employees.

Rich Couture, a representative of the American Federation of Government Employees, described the plan as a significant overreach unrelated to the administration’s claimed goal of enforcing policy adherence. He criticized it for providing the SSA with the authority to easily terminate non-policy-making employees.

The SSA has already cut around 3,000 positions through buyouts and early retirements, nearing its 7,000 job reduction target. The Office of Personnel Management recently estimated that 50,000 federal employees would be reclassified as policy-related, which would make it easier for agencies to terminate “poor performers.”

Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, predicted that reclassification could impact around 10,000 SSA employees, roughly 20% of the agency’s workforce. She cautioned that such changes could politicize critical positions within the SSA and lead to potential abuses, especially in areas like Acquisition, Grants, and Human Resources.

“You don’t want grants politicized or contracts that could lead to self-dealing. You don’t want human resources politicized, that could lead to hiring of political cronies,” she stated. “There’s tremendous potential for abuse.”