Mass layoffs begin at HHS, CDC, NIH, FDA

WASHINGTON - Another round of significant layoffs has hit the Department of Health and Human Services, impacting the federal workforce responsible for food and medicine safety, medical research, and healthcare for many Americans.

What we know:

HHS, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is cutting a quarter of its workforce. Some employees were notified via email at 5 a.m. Tuesday that they had lost their jobs, while others found out when they arrived at work.

The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many of the key experts who have long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues.

Lines of HHS employees waited at the Mary Switzer Building in Southwest D.C. to learn whether they still had a job by checking their security badges at the building’s entrance to see if they were still active. If not, it meant they were out of a job. Several former HHS employees were seen clearing their desks and leaving with their belongings.

Employees laid off are expected to receive severance, but some are being told their terminations are due to poor job performance, which means they will not receive severance pay.

At a regional HHS office in Rockville, MD, workers at the CDC, NIH, and FDA were affected by layoffs. Some employees are reportedly being told their jobs have been relocated to other parts of the country, effectively forcing many to quit. 

FOX 5 DC has been told that these layoffs, along with other actions by DOGE, are reducing the HHS workforce from approximately 82,000 employees to 62,000. HHS said the layoffs are expected to save $1.8 billion annually from the department’s $1.7 trillion budget, most of which is spent on Medicare and Medicaid health insurance coverage for millions of Americans.

What they're saying:

"Well, it's just psychological torture... like every day not knowing if you have a job or not. And it's not being based on anything that's legal or people's real performance. People are getting fired who are exemplary performers and dedicated civil servants. So I just wish people knew that these are people that are hard-working and work for the American people. They're not partisan," said Bridget, one HHS employee who spoke to FOX 5 DC. 

"Right now it's just really quiet and kind of somber. It's uncertainty at this point. How are you handling it? It's uncertain. It's very uncertain right now. I feel for my colleagues... a lot of colleagues and friends that are in our regional offices that have been affected by this RIF, so right now my heart just goes out to them," said HHS employee Tanesha Canzater. 

"The FDA as we’ve known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed," said former FDA Commissioner Robert Califf in an online post. Califf stepped down at the end of the Biden administration.

Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington predicted the cuts will have ramifications when natural disasters strike or infectious diseases, like the ongoing measles outbreak, spread.

"They may as well be renaming it the Department of Disease because their plan is putting lives in serious jeopardy," Murray said Friday.

The other side:

"The revolution begins today!" Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote on social media as he celebrated the swearing-in of his latest hires: Bhattacharya and Martin Makary, the new Food and Drug Administration commissioner. Kennedy’s post came just hours after employees began receiving emailed layoff notices.

Kennedy announced a plan last week to remake the department, which, through its agencies, is responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, and monitoring the safety of food and medicine, as well as for administering health insurance programs for nearly half the country.

The plan would consolidate agencies that oversee billions of dollars for addiction services and community health centers under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America.

By the numbers:

HHS has not provided additional details or comments about Tuesday’s mass firings, but on Thursday it provided a breakdown of some of the cuts.

• 3,500 jobs at the FDA, which inspects and sets safety standards for medications, medical devices and foods.
• 2,400 jobs at the CDC, which monitors for infectious disease outbreaks and works with public health agencies nationwide.
• 1,200 jobs at the NIH.
• 300 jobs at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare and Medicaid.