The Trump administration's ongoing effort to reduce the federal workforce has reached the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), leading to widespread staff layoffs.
Over the weekend, probationary employees across the agency were informed that their jobs were being eliminated.
According to sources within the FDA, these layoffs primarily impacted staff members responsible for evaluating the safety of food additives, medical devices, and tobacco products.
The exact number of employees affected remains unclear, but reports suggest that the firings concentrated on divisions overseeing food safety, medical devices, and tobacco regulations.
It is uncertain whether personnel involved in drug evaluations were included in these cuts.
The move follows a broader reduction plan by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which recently announced the termination of 5,200 probationary employees across its various agencies, including the FDA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
At the CDC, nearly 1,300 employees were initially expected to be laid off, but as of Sunday, approximately 700 had received termination notices, CNBC said.
The affected employees reportedly did not include doctors and researchers from the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a crucial group responsible for tracking disease outbreaks.
Probationary employees across the FDA received notices Saturday evening that their jobs were being eliminated. https://t.co/x8mcozAKDp
— WABI_TV5 (@WABI_TV5) February 17, 2025
FDA Workforce Reductions Raise Alarm Over Drug and Food Safety
The FDA, headquartered in the Maryland suburbs near Washington, DC, employs nearly 20,000 people.
The agency has been a particular focus for newly appointed HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who has openly criticized the FDA's policies.
Kennedy has previously accused the agency of obstructing alternative medical treatments, including psychedelics and stem cell therapies.
He has also advocated for banning numerous chemicals and additives from US food products. His commitment to overhauling the FDA was underscored last year when he vowed to remove entire departments from the agency.
Despite the significant cuts, the FDA's budget remains largely unchanged. According to Newsweek, nearly half of its $6.9 billion funding comes from industry fees paid by pharmaceutical and medical device companies.
Some experts argue that eliminating these positions will not significantly reduce government spending but could slow down regulatory approvals and safety assessments.
Industry experts warn that cutting newly hired employees could have unintended consequences. The FDA has long struggled to attract and retain top talent, with younger professionals often bringing fresh perspectives and advanced technical expertise.
The Government Accountability Office previously highlighted the FDA's ongoing difficulties in recruitment, largely due to more competitive salaries in the private sector.
Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner, emphasized the importance of retaining younger employees, stating that new hires bring innovative ideas and enthusiasm necessary for advancing technology and regulatory processes.
Meanwhile, Mitch Zeller, a former FDA director for tobacco products, suggested that these workforce reductions could weaken morale and make future hiring even more challenging.
The agency has already been struggling with staffing shortages, particularly among its inspection force, which oversees thousands of facilities worldwide.
The COVID-19 pandemic further strained this division, leading to significant backlogs in drug facility inspections. Reports indicate that approximately 2,000 manufacturing sites had not been inspected since before the pandemic.
Originally published on vcpost.com
