Mass layoffs in Health Dept: Employees get dismissal notices as part of Trump's major overhaul

EMPLOYEES across the US Health and Human Services Department (HHS) began receiving dismissal notices on Tuesday (April 1) as part of a major restructuring plan that is expected to cut up to 10,000 jobs.

The overhaul comes just days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order stripping collective bargaining rights from HHS and other federal agencies.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced last week that the restructuring aims to make HHS more efficient. The HHS department, which oversees public health, disease prevention, and medical research, will see a significant reorganisation, including the consolidation of agencies that oversee billions in addiction services and community health funding under a new entity called the Administration for a Healthy America.

Union criticism and lawmaker concerns

Union representatives for HHS employees were notified on Thursday that between 8,000 and 10,000 employees will be terminated. The department’s leadership has targeted positions in human resources, procurement, finance, and IT, focusing especially on those in "high-cost regions" or deemed "redundant."

Democratic lawmakers condemned the move. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington warned of dire consequences, particularly for public health crises.

“They may as well be renaming it the Department of Disease because their plan is putting lives in serious jeopardy,” Murray said Friday.

Cuts ripple through local health departments

Beyond federal layoffs, state and local health departments are also feeling the impact. Last week, HHS rescinded more than $11 billion in Covid-19-related funding, forcing local governments to assess job cuts.

“Some of them overnight, some of them are already gone,” said Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive of the National Association of County and City Health Officials.

Breakdown of job cuts

The department provided a detailed breakdown of the expected job losses:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA): 3,500 jobs. The FDA is responsible for inspecting and setting safety standards for medications, medical devices, and food.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): 2,400 jobs. The CDC monitors infectious diseases and works with public health agencies nationwide.

National Institutes of Health (NIH): 1,200 jobs. The NIH is the world’s leading medical research institution.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): 300 jobs. CMS oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Unionisation efforts blocked by Executive Order

CDC employees had been ramping up unionisation efforts in response to the Trump administration’s workforce reduction plans. While about 2,000 CDC employees in Atlanta were already part of the American Federation of Government Employees, hundreds more had petitioned to join.

However, Trump’s executive order, signed Thursday night, stripped collective bargaining rights from employees at several federal health agencies, including the CDC.

Backlash over Union Rights removal

Democratic lawmakers slammed the move as an attack on federal workers’ rights.

“President Trump’s brazen attempt to strip the majority of federal employees of their union rights robs these workers of their hard-fought protections,” Reps. Gerald Connolly and Bobby Scott, both of Virginia, said in a joint statement Friday.

“This will only give Elon Musk more power to dismantle the people’s government with as little resistance from dedicated civil servants as possible — further weakening the federal government’s ability to serve the American people.”