NIH Will See Second Wave Of Layoffs As Part Of HHS Restructuring
Some of the layoffs will be to compensate for those rehired after the first wave. Meanwhile, Politico reports on how HHS had no intention of rehiring 20% of the departments' fired employees, as previously reported. Other disruptions caused by the cuts include: 9/11 firefighter programs, call centers that provide essential safety information, and more.
CBS News:
RFK Jr. To Lay Off More NIH Employees Amid HHS Restructuring, Officials Say
More employees at the National Institutes of Health are expected to be laid off in the coming days, multiple federal officials say, less than a week after an initial wave of cuts gutted many offices within the health research agency. The NIH was initially supposed to lose about 1,200 scientists, support staff and other officials as a result of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s restructuring. It is unclear how many additional employees will be targeted for cuts. (Tin and Gounder, 4/4)
Politico:
RFK Jr. Said HHS Would Rehire Thousands Of Fired Workers. That Wasn't True
When HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday that he planned to rehire 20 percent of the employees he’d just terminated, he insisted such a move was “always the plan.” Turns out, it wasn’t the plan at all. HHS has no intention of reinstating any significant number of the staffers fired as part of a mass reduction-in-force on Tuesday, despite Kennedy’s assertion that some had been mistakenly cut, a person familiar with the department’s plans told POLITICO. (Cancryn, 4/4)
ABC News:
RFK Jr. Said HHS Layoffs Are Needed As 'Americans Are Getting Sicker.' Here's What The Data Shows
About 10,000 people across the United States Department of Health and Human Services were laid off this week as part of a massive restructuring plan. In a post on X on Tuesday afternoon, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the layoffs represented "a difficult moment for all of us" but that "we must shift course" because Americans are "getting sicker every year." An official at the National Institutes of Health with knowledge on the matter, who asked not to be named, told ABC News that the layoffs were an "HHS-wide bloodbath," with entire offices being fired. (Kekatos and Akambase, 4/4)
Also —
AP:
HHS Layoffs Hit NIOSH Lab, 9/11 Firefighter Program
Government staffing cuts have gutted a small U.S. health agency that aims to protect workers — drawing rebukes from firefighters, coal miners, medical equipment manufacturers and a range of others. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a Cincinnati-based agency that is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is losing about 850 of its approximately 1,000 employees, according to estimates from a union and affected employees. ... The layoffs are stalling — and perhaps ending — many programs, including a firefighter cancer registry and a lab that is key to certifying respirators for many industries.(Stobbe, 4/5)
Axios:
Key Safety Hotlines Disrupted By HHS Cuts
Teams manning government hotlines for reporting adverse events from foods, supplements and cosmetics, and call centers that provide other essential safety information were among the thousands of Health and Human Services Department employees laid off last week. The Food and Cosmetic Information Center fields tens of thousands of calls annually from consumers and industry representatives about recalls, nutritional information and food business requirements, along with unintended health consequences from using FDA-approved products. (Goldman and Snyder, 4/6)
Politico:
RFK Jr.’s Staff Cuts Leave Health Workers Scrambling
The survivors of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mass firings are taking stock of the damage and trying to figure out what remains of their agencies. Kennedy hasn’t released an accounting of the purge. Amid an information blackout from the administration, workers are tallying the losses in shared Google documents, spreadsheets, and notes. They say middle managers have shared some information in hastily scheduled meetings but are hesitant to put anything in writing. (Reader, Cirruzzo and Ollstein, 4/4)
Stat:
Therapists Are Hearing Tales Of Trauma From Federal Health Workers
An underground network of therapists is starting to help federal health workers deal with the "special kind of hell" they're going through. (Cooney, 4/7)
The Hill:
Ousted FDA Vaccine Director Calls Kennedy's Start 'Very Scary'
Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official pressured to resign over his disagreements with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., warned in an interview published Friday that Kennedy’s tenure at the HHS has been “very scary” so far. ... In his resignation letter, Marks said he had been “willing” to work to address Kennedy’s “concerns” about vaccine transparency and safety but determined Kennedy only wanted “subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.” (Choi, 4/4)
