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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday that it will eliminate approximately 3,500 positions at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This decision comes at a time when FDA employees are already struggling to keep up with product review deadlines, raising concerns about the impact on public health and regulatory efficiency.
Wider Workforce Cuts at HHS
The FDA layoffs are part of a much broader effort to reduce the HHS workforce by 10,000 full-time employees across multiple agencies. This reduction is in addition to the estimated 10,000 employees who have already left the agency since President Trump took office. Many of these previous departures were through voluntary separation programs.
In total, HHS plans to shrink its workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 employees, a move expected to save the department $1.8 billion annually.
Major Restructuring of HHS
As part of this reorganization, HHS will consolidate 28 divisions into 15, significantly streamlining its operations. Additionally, the number of regional offices will be cut in half, reducing from 10 to five.
One of the most notable changes is the creation of a new agency, the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). This agency will absorb multiple offices and departments to improve coordination of chronic care and disease prevention programs.
“We’re going to eliminate an entire alphabet soup of departments and agencies while preserving their core function,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a video posted Thursday on X.
FDA Staff Struggling to Meet Deadlines
The layoffs were announced on the same day that Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported that FDA employees responsible for reviewing medical devices and tobacco products have been struggling to meet congressionally mandated deadlines. These challenges have reportedly been made worse by previous staff reductions during the Trump administration.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) also laid off 1,000 probationary employees from the FDA, mainly impacting tobacco, food, and medical device centers. Some of these workers were later rehired, but the loss of staff has significantly increased workloads.
Increased Workload for FDA Scientists
Two FDA scientists told Reuters that their workloads had effectively doubled since the layoffs. Each scientist is now responsible for reviewing twice the number of new product applications, adding to concerns about potential delays in approvals for medical devices, food safety regulations, and tobacco product evaluations.
FDA’s Response and Future Outlook
The FDA has not yet responded to requests for comment on the layoffs or the reported increase in workload. However, as the agency faces staff shortages and mounting regulatory demands, industry experts warn that longer approval times could have consequences for public health and the medical industry.
With these sweeping changes to HHS and the FDA, many are left questioning how the government will balance cost-cutting efforts while maintaining the quality and efficiency of essential public health services.
