US health department mass layoffs begin as RFK Jr orders 10,000 job cuts

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The US Department of Health and Human Services started dismissing workers early Tuesday morning, according to a memo viewed by Bloomberg, carrying out Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s goal to shrink the agency. 

Firings at some divisions began shortly after 5 am in Washington, DC, according to the memo.  The cuts align with a plan Kennedy announced March to eliminate 10,000 employees from the agency’s workforce. Combined with voluntary departures through buyout programs, the total initiative is expected to reduce the agency’s staff from 82,000 employees to 62,000 workers. 

Among those cut were Peter Stein, a top official at the Food and Drug Administration who oversaw reviewers that evaluate new drugs, according to an email viewed by Bloomberg. 

“I received an email indicating that I’ve been removed as OND Director and offered a position in patient affairs — which I have declined,” Stein wrote. The Office of New Drugs reviews applications and makes approval decisions, and is responsible for deciding whether the benefits of drugs outweigh the risks, the agency’s website says. 

Stein’s departure is another major blow to the agency’s leadership following the March 28 departure of Peter Marks, who oversaw the division of FDA that approves vaccines, insulins and complex injectable medicines. 

Besides shrinking the agency’s workforce, Kennedy is also working to reshape its structure by cutting the number of divisions almost in half. Those moves include combining units of HHS focused on public health, substance abuse, mental health and occupational safety into a new entity called the Administration for a Healthy America. The division of HHS responsible for preparing for pandemics will be relocated to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 1,000 employees will be transferred there as a result.  

HHS has said drug and medical device workers, along with food reviewers and inspectors will be spared from the cuts. 

Democrats have blasted Kennedy’s plans, saying they will disrupt services and undermine medical research. “Their plan is putting lives in serious jeopardy,” Washington Senator Patty Murray told reporters the day after the cuts were announced.