File Photo: November 4, 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters can be seen in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Jason Reed | Reuters
The Trump administration’s efforts to cut the size of the federal workforce this weekend reached the Food and Drug Administration as recently hired staff reviewed the safety of food ingredients, medical equipment and other products.
Three FDA employees said on Saturday night, FDA’s probation employees received notices that their jobs were eliminated.
The total positions that were phased out are unclear, but the firing appears to focus on the staff at the agency’s food, medical equipment and tobacco product centers, which include oversight of e-cigarettes. It is unclear whether FDA employees reviewing drugs have waived layoffs.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to remove 5,200 probation employees at its agency-wide, including the National Institutes of Health, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Friday, anonymous, those who spoke to the AP said the total number of probation workers to lay off employees at the CDC is close to 1,300. But as of Sunday afternoon, about 700 people were notified, according to three people speaking anonymously because they had no right to speak publicly. They said the CDC layoffs did not affect young doctors and researchers who tracked the disease in so-called pandemic intelligence services.
The FDA is based in the suburbs of Maryland outside Washington and employs nearly 20,000 people. It has long been the new oath of Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy also called for the elimination of thousands of chemicals and coloring in American food. However, the FDA cuts include staff responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients.
A HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday afternoon.
Nearly half of the FDA’s $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by companies regulated by the agency, including manufacturers of drugs and medical equipment, which allows the agency to hire additional scientists to review products quickly. Eliminating these positions will not reduce government spending.
A former FDA official said cutting the recent employees could backfire, eliminating employees who are often younger and have higher technical skills. The FDA’s workforce is biased towards older workers who have spent one to two decades at the agency, and the Office of Government Accountability noted in 2022 that the FDA “has historically faced recruitment and retaining employees in terms of private sector money. challenge.
“You want to bring new blood,” said Peter Pitts, a former FDA deputy commissioner for George W. Bush. “You want people to have new ideas, greater enthusiasm and Latest technical thinking.”
Mitch Zeller, former FDA tobacco director, said the firing was a way to “depress the spirit of the federal workforce.”
“The combined effect of what they are trying to do will undermine the ability to recruit and retain talent,” Zeller said.
In recent years, the FDA’s inspection forces have been particularly nervous after departures during the COVID-19-19 pandemic, and many of the agency’s existing inspectors have been recently employees. It is not clear whether these employees are exempted.
FDA inspectors oversee thousands of food, drug, tobacco and medical equipment facilities around the world, although the Associated Press reported last year that the agency faced a backlog of about 200,000 uninspired drug facilities that have been around since before the pandemic Have not visited.
The agency’s inspection forces have also been criticized for not catching issues involving infant formula, baby food and eye drops faster.
