HHS ‘dramatic restructuring’ begins as employees turned away by security
Less than a week after announcing some 10,000 layoffs at agencies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it appears the “dramatic restructuring” teased by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has begun.
Multiple media outlets have confirmed thousands of employees at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have received dismissal notices.
Further, security guards are barring the entrances to agencies, turning away federal employees as they show up to work.
Those purged in the mass firings include scientists overseeing public health, individuals working on drug and vaccine approvals, cancer researchers and a lot more. At the CDC, departments responsible for environmental health, mental health, substance abuse and immunizations saw a heavy number of layoffs, including staff working to contain the ongoing measles outbreak.
When announcing the staff cuts last week, HHS said the goal was to reduce its headcount from 82,000 to 62,000, through layoffs, early retirements and employee buyouts.
Reuters is reporting Brian King, the head of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products division, was among those released as his department is effectively closed. Additionally, Peter Marks—a top vaccine official—also lost his job, the outlet confirmed citing internal emails.
Speaking to Reuters, an employee at the FDA said fired staff were given a ticket as they attempted to enter the building Tuesday morning. The ticket contained a list of phone numbers workers could call to retrieve their belongings and “essential” equipment.
'Dark day for public health'
In a post on LinkedIn, former FDA Commissioner and professor of medicine at Duke University Robert Califf said the “FDA as we’ve known it is finished.”
"[M]ost of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety are no longer employed,” he wrote. “I believe that history will see this [as] a huge mistake. I will be glad if I’m proven wrong, but even then there is no good reason to treat people this way.”
In a later post, Califf called the purge a “dark day for public health.”
The layoffs are part of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s ongoing initiative to improve “efficiency.” HHS said core services, such as Medicare and Medicaid, will remain intact.
This is a developing story.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.