Kennedy slashing 10,000 jobs in health department overhaul
Kennedy slashing 10,000 jobs in health department overhaul
USA Today, Washington, DC; by Joey Garrison; 3/27/25
Health and Human Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday he will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs from the Cabinet department in a dramatic reduction that includes closing half its regional offices as part of a wider Trump administration overhaul of the federal government. Combined with HHS employees who previously accepted buyouts and others who were already fired, the agency's workforce will be sliced by one-quarter from 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000 since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. The Department of Health and Human Services ‒ which oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ‒ will consolidate the agency's 28 divisions into 15 new divisions in Kennedy's shakeup. ... Among the cuts in key divisions:
- The Food and Drug Administration will terminate 3,500 full-time employees. ...
- The CDC is set to reduce its workforce by 2,400 employees. ...
- The National Institutes of Health will terminate 1,200 employees. ...
- CMS, which oversees Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, will cut 300 employees. ...