In a major overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, up to 10,000 employees are expected to be laid off as part of a restructuring plan announced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Consolidating agencies under a new office called the Administration for a Healthy America, the plan aims to streamline operations and reduce the department’s size to 62,000 positions.
The layoffs are expected to affect various divisions of HHS, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The move comes just days after President Donald Trump revoked workers’ collective bargaining rights at HHS and other government agencies.
Critics of the plan, including Democratic Senator Patty Murray, argue that the cuts will jeopardize public health efforts during outbreaks and emergencies. In addition, state and local health departments are also facing layoffs due to a loss of COVID-19-related funds from HHS.
The restructuring has sparked concerns among union representatives and lawmakers, who see it as a move to weaken federal employee protections and dismantle government services. Despite Trump’s executive order to end collective bargaining for federal agencies, protests against the layoffs and restructuring have been gaining momentum.
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