US Health Dept may ask fired staff to keep working, reinstate others [View all]

Source: Reuters

April 3, 2025 6:32 PM EDT Updated 9 hours ago


WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) - Thousands of employees fired this week from the Department of Health and Human Services and the public health agencies it oversees may be asked to temporarily continue working for two months and others could be reinstated, officials said on Thursday.

"There were some programs that were cut that are being reinstated," Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told ABC News, referring in particular to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program that monitors lead levels in children's blood. "Personnel that should not have been cut were cut -- we're reinstating them, and that was always the plan."

The department on Tuesday began mass layoffs at high profile health agencies like the FDA, CDC and National Institutes of Health, aiming to fire 10,000 staffers as part of a broader plan by President Donald Trump and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal government and slash spending.

Employees said they were given "reduction in force" notices that said they were being placed on administrative leave effective April 1 and until June 2. Some at the Food and Drug Administration were told to keep their work computers. Health agency sources said the layoffs had already begun to affect everything from bird flu response to drug oversight. "All employees affected by the reduction in force may be asked to temporarily work until their government service ends on June 2," said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-health-department-says-it-may-ask-fired-staff-keep-working-2025-04-03/

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Bullshit. There was no "plan" except to "cut" some x% of people no matter what they did.

The Bird Flu isn't going to suddenly disappear on June 2nd.