The Trump administration plans to cut approximately 5,200 probationary federal employees across agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) starting on Friday. The agencies impacted include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Notably, the Atlanta-based CDC will see around 1,300 workers dismissed.
Friday morning, senior officials at HHS were informed that the layoffs will primarily affect probationary employees—hired within the last two years. Under federal labor agreements, workers still on probation are easier to dismiss than those who have worked for the government for several years or more. Concurrently, an unspecified group of contract workers at the CDC and other Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including several at the Vaccine Research Center at NIH, have learned their employment will be terminated.
Those federal workers slated for layoffs will receive a month of paid leave. However, HHS officials have been directed to shut off access to work systems for those dismissed by the end of the day.
These staff reductions align with broader governmental workforce reductions currently underway. President Donald J. Trump recently authorized federal worker buyouts and mandatory return-to-work protocols; the deadline for federal workers to accept the former has since passed.
New HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed intentions to overhaul federal health agencies, suggesting that entire departments at the FDA are in his sights. In a social media post, Kennedy urged FDA employees to prepare for departure and maintain records.
HHS oversees more than 80,000 employees, including over 18,000 at NIH, which manages a $47 billion research budget. The CDC similarly employs 13,000 workers and has an annual budget of $9.2 billion.
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