Employees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) faced a dramatic reshuffle on Tuesday, as the federal agency undertook a broad overhaul to significantly downsize. The restructuring, which resulted in numerous job eliminations, affected a wide range of staff, from researchers and scientists to doctors and senior leaders, leaving the government with fewer experts to guide essential health-related decisions like drug approvals and medical research.
In messages shared online, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. heralded the changes, framing them as a “revolution,” following the appointment of new leadership within key agencies. This included Dr. Jay Bhattacharya at the National Institutes of Health and Martin Makary at the Food and Drug Administration. While many employees were shortly thereafter notified via email of their layoffs, Kennedy expressed sympathy for those affected, emphasizing the necessity of reorienting the department’s focus towards disease prevention.
As outlined in a recently announced strategy, the reform plan aims to consolidate multiple health services under a new branch called the Administration for a Healthy America. This restructuring seeks to save approximately $1.8 billion annually from the HHS budget, which encompasses a significant portion spent on public health insurance through Medicare and Medicaid.
The staff cutbacks will reduce HHS’s workforce by nearly a quarter, scaling back to 62,000 positions. This includes 10,000 layoffs and another 10,000 positions removed through early retirement offers and voluntary separations. While most positions were based around Washington, D.C., others in cities like Atlanta and various smaller offices nationwide were also impacted. Employees faced the grim news when termination notices began arriving in their email inboxes as early as 5 a.m., while some discovered their job status through inattentive access controls at office locations.
The drastic changes heavily impacted facets of the NIH and CDC, where numerous directors and staff were dismissed, including communication teams and departments handling critical health issues such as infectious diseases. At the FDA, the restructuring saw employees regulating drugs and tobacco products handed notice, and the group managing electronic cigarette regulations was dissolved.
The upheaval extended beyond federal corridors, influencing state and local health departments following a rollback of COVID-19 funding. This led to potential job losses at these levels, further unsettling public health infrastructures. In response, a coalition of state attorneys has initiated legal action, arguing the cuts are unlawful and disrupt vital health networks.
HHS has not released an extensive commentary on the layoffs but detailed some of the workforce reductions: 3,500 jobs were cut at the FDA, 2,400 at the CDC, 1,200 at the NIH, and 300 at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As the department navigates this period of transformation, stakeholders and officials voice concerns over possible ramifications for public health and safety.