WASHINGTON: The Trump administration has dismissed dozens of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in its latest round of staff reductions.
The New York Times reported on Saturday that the layoffs included “disease detectives,“ high-ranking scientists and the entire Washington office.
The White House and the CDC did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters about these staff cuts.
Affected workers reportedly received layoff notices via email shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday.
These notices informed employees that their duties were now considered unnecessary or “virtually identical” to those performed elsewhere in the agency.
The exact number of CDC workers affected by these layoffs has not yet been confirmed.
The ongoing U.S. government shutdown has sent hundreds of thousands of federal workers home without pay.
Staff at the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the CDC, have been affected by this shutdown. – Reuters
