Mass layoffs reshape US health agencies as thousands receive dismissal notices

A sweeping reorganisation of the US department of health and human services (HHS) resulted in thousands of employees receiving dismissal notices on Tuesday.
The layoffs, expected to eliminate 10,000 positions, include researchers, scientists, doctors, and senior officials—many of whom have played crucial roles in medical research, drug approvals, and public health monitoring.
At the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where Dr Jay Bhattacharya assumed his role as director on the same day, several senior leaders were placed on administrative leave.
As per the news agency Associated Press, at least four directors of NIH’s 27 institutes and centers were among those affected, and nearly the entire communications teams were terminated. Some senior employees were reportedly offered transfers to remote locations, such as Alaska, with just 48 hours to respond.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also faced sweeping cuts. As per CNN, entire divisions were eliminated, including the office responsible for drafting new regulations for electronic cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Former FDA commissioner Dr Robert Califf lamented the changes and was quoted by CNN saying, “The FDA as we’ve known it is finished, with most of the leaders with institutional knowledge and a deep understanding of product development and safety no longer employed.”
Meanwhile, HHS secretary

Robert F Kennedy Jr

defended the layoffs, saying they would streamline the agency and prioritize fighting chronic disease over what he called “bureaucratic sprawl.” Announcing the changes on social media, he declared, “The revolution begins today!” He also revealed plans to consolidate several agencies under the newly formed Administration for a Healthy America.
However, the cuts have drawn criticism from public health experts and lawmakers. Democratic Senator Patty Murray warned that the restructuring could have dire consequences. “They may as well be renaming it the Department of Disease,” she told AP. The CDC, which has lost 2,400 employees, saw deep cuts in divisions working on asthma, reproductive health, air pollution, gun violence and climate change.
Beyond federal agencies, state and local health departments are also feeling the impact.
HHS recently withdrew over $11 billion in Covid-19-related funding, leading to additional job losses at the state level. Meanwhile, a coalition of state attorneys general has sued the Trump administration, arguing that the cuts are illegal and will exacerbate the opioid crisis and destabilize mental health services.
With nearly a quarter of HHS staff eliminated, experts fear that the loss of experienced professionals will leave the country vulnerable to public health threats. “This will cost lives,” warned Dr

Tom Frieden

, a former CDC director.