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ROCHESTER 鈥� Rochester's Social Security Administration office is losing almost half of its staff to buyouts, data from the agency shows.

The Social Security offices in Rochester and Alexandria, Minnesota, are included on a list of field offices with 25% or more losses due to employees taking voluntary separation incentive payments, The Rochester office is losing 40% of its staff, while Alexandria is down 50%.

The data does not specify the number of employees who are affected at each office, but the Social Security Administration said that 1,962 of the 2,500 employees who took the buyout offer were at one of its field offices across the country. No other Minnesota offices are on the 25% losses list.

In late February, the Social Security Administration announced that it would from 57,000 to 50,000 people, offering early retirement and voluntary separation incentives to employees. Depending on seniority, employees who expressed interest in the buyout by March 14 could be paid between $15,000 and $25,000 to leave.

Friday, April 4, that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency service has ordered the agency to lay off more employees as soon as next week.

that leaders in the agency's technology and information office are being asked to reduce that group of staff by one-third.

Friday morning, U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minnesota, on social media.

In a statement to the Post Bulletin, Smith said "cutting staff at Social Security offices will directly harm Minnesotans who count on these services to access their benefits."

"This will only mean longer wait times, more delays and less support for seniors, people with disabilities and families who need help,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淟et鈥檚 be clear: this isn鈥檛 about rooting out waste or fraud 鈥� it鈥檚 about making room for more tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations, at the expense of working people who spent their lives paying into the system."

Also this week, a group of unions that represent federal government workers over an executive order that aims to end collective bargaining for those workers. The lead plaintiff is the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents Social Security Administration staff.

The Post Bulletin has reached out to the Social Security Administration and the American Federation of Government Employees for comment.