CDC lays off about 600 after Rhode Island court shields some staff

At least 600 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are receiving permanent termination notices, following a court decision that shielded some CDC staff from layoffs but not others. The notices, issued this week, come as the Department of Health and Human Services continues a sweeping downsizing effort that aims to reduce the agency’s workforce by roughly one-fifth. Many workers have yet to receive formal notices, and union officials say there remains a troubling lack of transparency about who is being cut.

The terminations, effective this past Monday, affect multiple divisions beyond those protected by the Rhode Island court ruling. The court’s preliminary decision had shielded staff in several areas—such as smoking, reproductive health, environmental health, workplace safety, birth defects, and sexually transmitted diseases—from layoffs. However, it did not extend to all CDC programs, and layoffs are moving ahead in other units, including the office that handles the Freedom of Information Act requests and other core health functions. The agency began sending layoff notices on April 1, as part of a broader restructuring across HHS.