Widespread job cuts begin at health agencies after HHS layoffs announcement

Layoffs began widely Tuesday morning at the Department of Health and Human Services as the agency sets out to cut some 10,000 full-time jobs as the Trump administration works to drastically shrink the size of the federal government.

The Trump administration carried out mass layoffs across the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, aiming to slash around 10,000 full-time jobs from the federal agencies long tasked with regulating food and drugs and overseeing the nation’s public health policies.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is trying to reduce HHS’ workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 across several agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

The drastic job eliminations are part of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s wider plan to reshape the federal public health infrastructure and dismantle traditional institutions. Kennedy repeatedly promised to hollow out the CDC and the NIH during his failed presidential bid last year.

The administration made deep and wide-ranging cuts to divisions responsible for tackling HIV, improving minority health and preventing injury, such as gun violence. Jobs were eliminated at offices overseeing the approval of new drugs, providing health insurance and responding to infectious disease outbreaks.

A number of lesser-known divisions — including several focused on the safety of mining workers — were cut entirely.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/widespread-job-cuts-begin-health-agencies-rcna198859

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