Some recently hired FDA employees laid off
WASHINGTON
The Trump administration’s effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration at the weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired.
Probationary employees across the FDA received notices on Feb. 15 evening that their jobs were being eliminated, according to three FDA staffers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
The total number of positions eliminated was not clear, but the firings appeared to focus on employees in the agency’s centers for food, medical devices and tobacco products.
On Feb. 14, some officials expected the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fire 5,200 probationary employees across its agencies.
People who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity on Feb. 14 said the number of probationary employees to be laid off at the CDC would total nearly 1,300.
The FDA is headquartered in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington and employs nearly 20,000 people. It's long been a target of newly sworn-in health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. , who last year accused the agency of waging a “war on public health” for not approving unproven treatments such as psychedelics, stem cells and chelation therapy.
Nearly half of the FDA’s $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by companies the agency regulates, including drug and medical device makers, which allows the agency to hire extra scientists to swiftly review products. Eliminating those positions will not reduce government spending.
