• Posted June 13, 2025

More Than 460 CDC Workers Reinstated After Layoffs

FRIDAY, June 13, 2025 (HealthDay News) — More than 460 laid-off employees at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are being rehired, officials said June 11.

The reinstatement notices went out this week, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

As part of a Trump administration plan to eliminate 10,000 health and human services positions, about 2,400 CDC employees lost their jobs in a wave of cuts across several federal health agencies. Entire programs were shut down — some focused on lead poisoning, gun violence, smoking, air quality, asthma and workplace safety, The Associated Press reported.

Programs that monitor and control infectious diseases were affected, too. Staff who tested for HIV and hepatitis, tracked global outbreaks and helped prevent tuberculosis were also among those laid off.

HHS did not give full details about the rehiring decisions. But officials confirmed that about 200 of the reinstated workers were from the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention.

Another 150 workers were from the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. That includes employees at a lab that tests for lead poisoning, according to workers and their union.

Layoffs at federal health agencies were challenged in lawsuits, and in some cases, judges have ordered the government to stop terminating workers.

This is not the first time CDC employees were told to return after being let go. In March, around 180 workers were brought back after receiving layoff notices in February.

Still, many say the damage has already been done.

“Bringing a few hundred people back to work out of thousands fired is a start, but there are still countless programs at CDC that have been cut, which will lead to increased disease and death,” said Abby Tighe, a founding member of Fired But Fighting, a group of affected workers.

The group held a rally in Atlanta this week, calling for more answers and for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the agency is focused on streamlining services and that “the nation’s critical public health functions remain intact and effective," according to an AP report.

“The Trump Administration is committed to protecting essential services — whether it’s supporting coal miners and firefighters through NIOSH, safeguarding public health through lead prevention or researching and tracking the most prevalent communicable diseases,” Nixon added.

More information

Learn more about the role of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

SOURCE: The Associated Press, June 11, 2025