The union said the plans are being driven by cost-cutting rather than improving working conditions or public services
Thousands of civil servants employed by the Department for Work and Pensions are facing an uncertain future following the announcement of plans to shut nine offices across the country.
The Public and Commercial Services union has strongly criticised the proposals, warning that workers could be made redundant or forced to relocate to different sites.
According to the PCS, the Government is prioritising savings over the welfare of its workforce.
PCS has warned the move would put more than 5,400 staff at risk of redundancy or "forced relocation".
The DWP has defended the closures as part of efforts to streamline its property portfolio and improve value for taxpayers.
The PCS union has condemned what it describes as a "cost-cutting agenda" driving the decision to shut the nine service and support centres.
Union representatives argue the closures are motivated by financial considerations rather than any genuine attempt to enhance working conditions or improve public services.
Staff affected by the changes face the prospect of significantly longer and more costly journeys to alternative workplaces, the union said.
The PCS maintains that thousands of its members now confront genuine risks of losing their positions entirely or being compelled to move against their wishes.
The DWP has sought to reassure workers that losing their jobs would only be considered after all other options have been exhausted.
The bases DWP is looking to exit by September next year are "service and support centres".
The locations hit include Blackpool Peel Park and Derby Holborn House as well as Glasgow Northgate. Others are Halifax Dean Clough Mills, Hyde Beech House, Liverpool Belle Vale, Motherwell Johnstone House, Sunderland Wear View House, and Torquay Cotswold House.
A departmental spokesperson stated: "We are consolidating the DWP estate to be smaller, more effective and deliver better value for money for the taxpayer."
The spokesperson added: "Through this transition we have been focusing on supporting our staff, with redeployment within the department or in other Government departments our first priority."
The department emphasised that none of the affected sites involve direct contact with members of the public, and that Jobcentres will continue operating as normal.
DWP minister Andrew Western confirmed the number of service and support centres it operates from 127 to 74 over the past five years, delivering "net recurrent cashflow savings of £72.2m between 2022-23 to 2024-25, with significant further savings expected in future years".
"With hybrid working now well-established, capacity across the estate exceeds requirements and is under-utilised by around a third,” he said.PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote accused the department of dressing up cuts as progress.
"These closures are being presented as modernisation, but for thousands of our members they mean uncertainty, longer journeys, disruption to family life and the very real risk of losing their jobs," she said.
Ms Heathcote criticised the department for years of inaction on improving its buildings while expecting employees to bear the burden of budget reductions.
"PCS fundamentally opposes these office closures, and any further closures of service centres or Jobcentres that would remove jobs from communities," she added.