Thousands of staff cut from federal health agencies, including CDC and VA
A week after a media report claimed thousands of layoffs were coming in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the purge of federal government workers by President Donald Trump’s administration, two federal health agencies have announced the release of workers, with more said to be on the way.
Veteran Affairs dismisses staff
On Thursday, the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) confirmed changes at the organization resulted in more than 1,000 employees being let go, in a move the agency said would free up millions of dollars to be used on healthcare services.
“At VA, we are focused on saving money so it can be better spent on Veteran care. We thank these employees for their service to VA. This was a tough decision, but ultimately it’s the right call to better support the Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors the department exists to serve,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement.
The cuts were strictly of probationary employees who had been in their positions for less than two years, the VA said in its announcement. Further, it added that it has 43,000 probationary employees working for it, meaning the dismissal represents just over 2% of persons in that category.
The agency said the move will free up “$98 million per year,” money that will redirect “back toward healthcare, benefits and services for VA beneficiaries.”
“To be perfectly clear: these moves will not negatively impact VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. In the coming weeks and months, VA will be announcing plans to put these resources to work helping Veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors,” Collins added.
CDC makes similar cuts
As part of the same effort from Elon Musk’s pseudo-government agency DOGE (the Department of Government Efficiency), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eliminated 1,300 jobs, also affecting only probationary workers.
That report comes from the Associated Press, who cited officials at HHS. Employees were said to have been notified about the layoff on Friday morning and were given four weeks of paid administrative leave as recompense.
Before the move, the CDC employed some 13,000 people.
More staff on the chopping block?
Citing sources briefed at meetings with senior officials, STAT said the National Institute of Health (NIH) is also set to release thousands of recent hires. The exact number remains unknown, and the NIH has not announced any official releases.
So far the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) remains unscathed, but that could change. On Feb. 5, DOGE set its sights on the agency in search of “big money fraud.” To date, nothing has been announced about what Musk, et al., may have found during their investigation.
As the newly confirmed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr takes office, it’s unclear what changes may be on the horizon in terms of staffing and policy at federal health agencies.
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.