Dozens of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees were notified late Friday night that they were being terminated, as part of a wider reduction in force across the Department of Health and Human Services.
The layoffs shuttered the CDC’s Washington office and affected staff in the Global Health Center and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, according to a current CDC official and a former administration official. “Entire offices are being eliminated, including people in senior leadership roles,” one official said.
Among those dismissed were officers in the agency’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, known as “disease detectives,” as well as fellows in the Laboratory Leadership Service and leaders within the Public Health Infrastructure Center and Office of Science.
According to a court filing, HHS began laying off between 1,100 and 1,200 employees on Friday, with staff across multiple divisions receiving reduction-in-force notices. An HHS spokesperson declined to specify which divisions were affected.
