The US Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on February 28 that it will cut about 7,000 employees, as part of the Trump administration's plan to streamline its apparatus.
In a statement, the SSA said it would restructure its workforce from 57,000 to 50,000, focusing on cutting positions that do not directly provide critical services, CNN reported. The agency is tasked with supporting the welfare and pensions of about 73 million retired and disabled Americans each month. Due to its importance and scope of work, this is one of the few agencies that US politicians initially identified as not being included in the cuts. During his campaign, Mr. Trump also repeatedly affirmed that he would not touch the SSA in his plan to cut government spending.
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Meanwhile, CBS News, citing informed sources, reported that nearly 900 employees of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were laid off on February 27. Among those affected were meteorologists, weather surveyors, and “hurricane hunters” – people who fly planes into storms to collect data. This has scientists concerned about the lack of human resources in charge of climate issues at NOAA, in the context of increasingly frequent and dangerous natural disasters.
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Also related to personnel work, the Pentagon recently announced that US Army Lieutenant General Telita Crosland, who is also the Director of the US Defense Health Agency (DHA) and one of the highest-ranking black female officers in the military, retired on February 28. Reuters quoted two informed sources as saying that Ms. Crosland was likely forced to retire after 32 years in the military. The US Department of Defense did not give the reason for Ms. Crosland's retirement. Previously, the Trump administration removed General Charles "CQ" Brown, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and several senior Pentagon leaders.
The White House is also determined to end remote work, with the US Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sending an "ultimatum" to at least 20 employees, giving them until March 7 to move back to Washington DC to work, or risk being fired. Experts say government agencies have the right to ask employees to return to work in person, but setting such a short deadline could be seen as a way to force employees to quit.
OPM’s announcement was even more shocking because on the same day he sent a letter to employees (February 26), Trump instructed government agencies to submit plans to move their offices out of the capital and to “less expensive locations” by April 14. To date, the Trump administration has fired or offered severance pay to about 100,000 employees and shows no signs of slowing down. Most of the people targeted are probationary employees, but a new wave of cuts has recently appeared targeting official personnel at federal agencies.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/my-tiep-tuc-cat-giam-hang-ngan-nhan-su-lien-bang-185250301220725634.htm
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