JUST IN: 1,300 CDC Employees FIRED

Around 1,300 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) got axed as a result of the Trump administration laying off probationary federal employees.

The firings impact approximately one-tenth of the agency’s workforce.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is eliminating 1,300 probationary workers
Employees were given 4 weeks paid admin. leave and notified on Feb. 14th
1000’s more will be let go at the National Institutes of Health before end of dayhttps://t.co/neU9cgqtXM

— DailyJobCuts . com – Layoffs / Job / Economy News (@dailyjobcuts) February 14, 2025

According to Fierce Healthcare, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has laid off about 5,200 probationary employees.

Mass firings at HHS: CDC cuts 1,300 probationary workers, reports sayhttps://t.co/Izd2l6HoA6

— FierceHealthIT (@FierceHealthIT) February 14, 2025

Per Fierce Healthcare:

Of the impacted workers, 1,300 are employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) while a sizeable portion work for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Employees were given four weeks paid administrative leave and notified on the morning of Feb. 14, as first reported by the Associated Press.

“HHS is following the administration’s guidance and taking action to support the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government,” an HHS spokesperson told Fierce Healthcare in a statement. “This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard.”

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President Trump, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Elon Musk have long promised to drastically reduce the workforce at federal health agencies in an effort to fundamentally reshape the federal government.

The Trump administration is choosing to target probationary workers early in the process because they are easier to fire without violating civil service protections.

WATCH:

NEWS: The mass firings ordered by President Trump across the federal government have now reached the Centers for Disease Control, @celinegounder reports for @CBSNews.

Full segment: https://t.co/zHgHfAubhW pic.twitter.com/97WIbCMtG1

— KFF Health News (@KFFHealthNews) February 14, 2025

“President Trump’s indefensible, indiscriminate firing of more than 1,000 CDC personnel in a single day leaves Americans exposed to disease and devastates careers and livelihoods for the world’s most talented doctors and scientists, many of them here in Georgia,” Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said.

President Trump’s indefensible, indiscriminate firing of more than 1,000 CDC personnel in a single day leaves Americans exposed to disease and devastates careers and livelihoods for the world’s most talented doctors and scientists, many of them here in Georgia.

— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) February 14, 2025

From The Hill:

Under a Trump administration initiative to eliminate probationary positions, approximately 1,300 CDC employees, representing about 10 percent of the agency’s staff, are losing their jobs.

The Atlanta-based agency’s leadership was informed of the decision Friday morning, with a verbal notice from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a meeting with CDC leaders, a federal official who was at the meeting told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss it and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.

On Wednesday, Ossoff criticized the Senate confirmation of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., noting Kennedy had publicly compared the work of the CDC to “Nazi death camps.”

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“If this administration guts and gags the CDC, who is going to defend the nation from Ebola? Who is going to protect kids from measles? Who is going to save us from TB [tuberculosis]?,” he asked in his Senate speech.

The CDC, with a core budget of $9.2 billion, is responsible for protecting Americans from health threats, including outbreaks. Prior to the cuts, the agency had 13,000 employees, with more than 2,000 working outside the U.S.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.