BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – We’re looking into reports that cuts are being made at Social Security offices around the state including Birmingham.

It’s all apart of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE’s, overhaul of the federal government.

There’s a lot of confusion about what’s happening, or what could happen, at Social Security offices around central Alabama. On DOGE’s website, it says a handful of offices could be impacted.

When it comes to the Social Security office in downtown Birmingham, we’re told cuts could already be taking place inside the Office of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity, according to Cynthia Johns, local union president with the American Federation of Government Employees. Johns says that office also handles reasonable accommodations for employees who are hearing impaired or other disabilities.

Johns tells WBRC some of those employees received emails saying they were on administrative leave or could potentially lose their jobs. Johns is also hearing about cuts that could happen at other SSA offices around the state.

We’re told employees are nervous about what the future holds.

“It’s just been real stressful. We have several employees that had to seek counseling because it’s very hard to come to work and not know whether you are going to have a job they next day or the next hour. So, the stress alone and it’s not helping the general public because you need us there,” Johns, President of AFGE Local 2206 said.

On social media, Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) initially said her office received reports that more than 100 people who work at the SSA office in Birmingham were unjustly terminated.

In a follow up post, Sewell said after speaking with the local AFGE chapter, the terminations impacted Social Security Region 4, which covers several states including Alabama. Sewell says she’s closely monitoring the situation.

We’ve reached out multiple times to the Social Security Administration to try and get some clarification on the potential cuts. We also reached out to DOGE for comment. We’ll let you know when we hear back.

Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here.

Copyright 2025 WBRC. All rights reserved.