The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is preparing to gut its workforce for good. At least 600 employees of the CDC are receiving permanent termination notices in the wake of a recent court decision that protected some CDC employees from layoffs but not others.
The permanent cuts include about 100 people who worked in violence prevention. Some employees noted those cuts come less than two weeks after a man fired at least 180 bullets into the CDC’s campus and killed a police officer.
The notices went out this week and many people have not yet received them, according to the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 2,000 dues-paying members at CDC, but “due to a staggering lack of transparency from HHS, the union hasn’t received formal notices of who is being laid off,” the federation said in a statement on Wednesday.
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The CDC is a leading national public health institute in the United States. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the CDC operates under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its primary mission is to protect public health and safety through the control and prevention of disease, injury, and disability.
The CDC conducts research, provides health information, monitors disease outbreaks, and develops guidelines for health practices to reduce health risks. It plays a crucial role in responding to health emergencies, such as infectious disease outbreaks (like COVID-19), natural disasters, and bioterrorism threats. Additionally, the CDC supports health promotion, disease prevention, and preparedness efforts at local, national, and global levels, making it a vital institution in safeguarding public health.
Early this year, the CDC underwent significant workforce reductions as part of a broader restructuring of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Approximately 2,400 CDC employees, about 20% of its staff, were laid off, impacting several critical divisions, including the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice. The latter, responsible for addressing climate-related health issues, was entirely eliminated.
These cuts were intended to streamline federal health operations but raised serious concerns about the agency’s ability to monitor and respond to emerging public health threats such as infectious disease outbreaks, including avian flu and measles. Additionally, the closure of port health stations weakened the CDC’s capacity to screen travelers for infectious diseases, posing risks to national and global health security.
The layoffs sparked strong criticism from public health experts, federal employees, and advocacy groups. More than 750 health professionals signed a letter expressing alarm over the erosion of public health infrastructure and the impact on the CDC’s capacity to manage health emergencies effectively. Critics argue that these cuts, combined with rising misinformation, have undermined public trust in health institutions and jeopardized the nation’s preparedness for future crises.
The layoffs mark a critical turning point in U.S. public health policy, with potential long-lasting consequences for the country’s ability to protect its population.
With a significant portion of its workforce permanently cut, including key divisions focused on emerging threats like climate-related health issues and violence prevention, the agency’s capacity to respond swiftly and effectively to public health crises is severely diminished. These layoffs come at a time when global health challenges, from infectious diseases to bioterrorism, demand robust surveillance, research, and intervention capabilities.