Mass firings at US health dept. partially reversed but still devastating

"Numbers are still sketchy, but reports from Friday indicate that more than 4,000 federal workers overall were initially targeted for layoffs. The Trump administration linked the firings to the ongoing government shutdown, which legal experts have suggested is illegal. Unions representing federal workers have already filed a lawsuit challenging the move. Of the reported 4,000 terminations, about 1,100 to 1,200 were among employees in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)."

"While it's unclear where all the new cuts occurred, reports from anonymous and external sources describe a major gutting of the CDC, an agency that has already been severely wounded, losing significant numbers this year. Its former leaders have accused the Trump administration of censoring its scientific work. It suffered a dramatic ousting of its Senate-confirmed director in August. And it was the target of a gunman weeks earlier, who shot over 500 rounds at its employees, killing a local police officer."

More than 4,000 federal workers were initially targeted for layoffs tied to the government shutdown; legal experts have suggested the shutdown is illegal and unions have filed suit. Approximately 1,100 to 1,200 of those terminations affected employees in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). HHS houses agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The HHS workforce fell from about 82,000 to roughly 62,000 earlier this year. The CDC reportedly suffered major cuts, losing staff who produce MMWR, respond to measles and Ebola, staff the Global Health Center, and support disease detection; the agency has faced accusations of censorship, a Senate-confirmed director ouster, and a recent deadly shooting. Some terminations were reportedly rescinded the following day.

Read at Ars Technica