On Friday, more than 1,300 CDC employees were notified that they had lost their jobs.
When the dust settled, around 600 CDC staffers were cut over the weekend, according to the former CDC employee group and AFGE Local 2883, a union that represents CDC workers.
The national federal workers union is contesting the legality of these and other layoffs.
Outside of the Washington office, CDC policy experts that help develop briefings and answer questions from Congress have also been eliminated, according to NPHC.
Overall, the cuts to CDC staff and budget under the Trump Administration undermine the nation’s public health infrastructure, Brooks says.
Over the long weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laid off about 600 employees as part of a larger effort by the Trump Administration to reduce the number of federal employees during the government shutdown.
It was a difficult process. Over 1,300 workers at the CDC received notice of their layoffs on Friday. Before Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced on X that “the RIFs have begun,” many of them were placed on furlough due to the shutdown. “.
The National Public Health Coalition, a group of former CDC employees, compiled the numbers showing that approximately 700 employees received emails the following day rescinding these reduction in force notices.
Among them was Aryn Melton Backus, a health communication specialist in the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health who has been on administrative leave for months. It was the third notice of termination she had received this year.
“We have no idea why certain programs were eliminated and others were saved,” Backus stated during an NPHC press conference on Tuesday. The confusion and lack of openness now appear to be the main points. “,”.
The Department of Human Services blamed “data discrepancies and processing errors” for some of the terminations and quick rescindions in a court filing on Tuesday. “.
According to AFGE Local 2883, a union that represents CDC employees, and the former CDC employee group, about 600 CDC staffers were laid off over the weekend.
CDC employees who brief Congress and those involved in chronic illness and health statistics were among those let go. Human resources employees who were called back from furlough to fire coworkers and team members, as well as CDC support staff like those at the CDC library and those who offered mental health assistance following an August attack at the CDC main campus, were also impacted.
The director of communications, Andrew Nixon, stated that the employees who were let go were “designated non-essential,” but HHS would not confirm the exact number or groups impacted by this round of layoffs. “..”.
According to the court filing, on October 10, 982 employees were intentionally let go from HHS, which includes the CDC as well as organizations like the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
These and other layoffs are being contested by the national federal workers union as illegal.
Speaking at a union press conference on Tuesday, Yolanda Jacobs, a health communications specialist at CDC and president of AFGE Local 2883, said, “These illegal firings of our union members during a federal government shutdown is a callous attack on hardworking Americans and puts the livelihoods, health, and safety of our members and communities at great risk.”.
The latest round of layoffs continues the flow of employees quitting the CDC this year as a result of earlier rounds of resignations, early retirements, and firings. Approximately 3,000 employees, or 25% of the CDC’s workforce, have left since January, the union claims.
In the recent cuts, CDC’s Washington office lost all of its employees, disrupting a long-standing system of support for congressional representatives.
During the NPHC press conference, Dr. John Brooks, who retired last year as chief medical officer for the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, stated, “CDC has worked directly with Congress for decades to help constituents by providing data, expertise, and insight when needed.”. Because of these dismissals, Congress can no longer get in touch with the organization it funds directly for information or briefings. “.”.
NPHC also said that CDC policy experts outside the Washington office who assist in creating briefings and responding to congressional inquiries have been replaced.
In general, Brooks claims that the Trump Administration’s budget and staff reductions at the CDC threaten the country’s public health system. “The ongoing deterioration of our country’s capacity to respond to public health emergencies under the Trump administration has many experts, including myself, worried that we are no longer adequately equipped to handle the next major outbreak or calamity. “.”.
The effects are being felt by state and local health departments. They have historically contacted the CDC for assistance when dealing with issues like food poisoning outbreaks or hospital infections.
“We’re going to send some people to help you look into this because sometimes that might be helpful. Dr. Karen Remley, a former CDC official and former Virginia health commissioner, stated at the NPHC press conference that “sometimes that might be talking to somebody who’s the world’s expert on a specific type of infection or exposure.”. “No one is available to answer the phone right now. “,”.
The federal health system is a “bloated bureaucracy,” according to Nixon, who wrote in an email that HHS is “continuing to close wasteful and duplicative entities to streamline the agency for the American people.”. “.”.
