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CDC Layoffs Partially Reversed With 700 Reinstated as About 600 Remain Terminated

Unions are suing to block the reductions and a federal judge is set to hear the case this week.

A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo
Image
People watch the sunset from the Washington Monument ahead of the first supermoon of the year, known as the Harvest Moon, rising above the National Mall, in view of the dome of the U.S. Capitol during the sixth day of a shutdown of the federal government in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 6, 2025.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington, as President Donald Trump, left, and Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, look on. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Overview

  • Roughly 1,300 CDC employees received reduction‑in‑force notices during the shutdown, with the Department of Health and Human Services attributing hundreds of mistaken notices to a coding error.
  • Approximately 700 terminations were rescinded within 24 hours, but about 600 CDC staff remain dismissed, including personnel from units central to surveillance and coordination.
  • Affected areas span the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report team, Epidemic Intelligence Service, measles and Ebola response staff, the CDC library, human resources, the National Center for Health Statistics, and the agency’s Washington office.
  • Court filings indicate about 4,200 federal employees across at least seven agencies were targeted for layoffs, and union leaders say the CDC has lost about a quarter of its workforce this year when combined with earlier cuts and departures.
  • Current and former CDC officials warn that disrupted clearance processes, eliminated liaison functions, and leadership churn are degrading core public‑health operations and national preparedness.