HHS permanently cuts 1,200 jobs in response to government shutdown
As a result of the ongoing shutdown of the federal government, spurred by Congress’s failure to agree on the future of Affordable Care Act subsidies that help Americans buy insurance through Healthcare.gov, many agencies are furloughing workers.
In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a contingency plan for operations during the shutdown to ensure it's able to continue delivering core services. Within, the agency said it plans to eliminate 32,460 jobs—expected to be temporary, as HHS shifts to bare-bones operations. However, this week it said it would also begin laying off staff permanently.
The news was revealed in a lawsuit filed by the union representing federal workers. In its response to the court, HHS confirmed it was sending out reduction-in-force notices to employees, with the anticipation that roughly 1,200 people will be terminated.
In a statement to Axios, a spokesperson for HHS confirmed multiple sub-agencies will be impacted, possibly to include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), among others.
“All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated nonessential by their respective divisions. HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda,” the spokesperson wrote.
DOGE's legacy lives on
It’s not clear if this is simply the first round of layoffs or HHS is now finished with its latest round of staff purges. There’s been a revolving door of fired and rehired workers since President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk began cutting staff from across the federal government in February as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
While DOGE has completed its work, Trump said the shutdown could push him to eliminate more jobs. The shutdown has entered its second week, and for now there’s no compromise deal on the table that satisfies deadlocked Republicans and Democrats.
A court is expected to hold a hearing on Oct. 16, where the union is seeking an injunction against the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, responsible for federal staffing reductions.
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.