On March 27, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which encompasses the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), announced a major restructuring that includes a department-wide reduction in workforce of about 10,000 full-time employees. HHS is calling the action a “Transformation to Make America Healthy Again,” and it is in accordance with President Trump’s Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE) Workforce Optimization Initiative Executive Order.

This move shortly follows mass layoffs of probationary employees at FDA and CDC, as well as at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other non-HHS federal agencies, that occurred in February 2025 and resulted in the resignation of FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones. The earlier layoffs were met with criticism from food industry stakeholders who expressed concerns about the affected agencies’ continued ability to uphold the safety of the U.S. food supply and effectively respond to foodborne illness outbreaks.

The newly announced restructuring of HHS will result in the layoffs of another 3,500 and 2,400 staffers currently employed at FDA and CDC, respectively. HHS says FDA layoffs will not affect drug, medical device, or food reviewers, nor will inspectors be impacted.

The CDC layoffs are intended to return the agency’s focus to its core mission of preparing for and responding to epidemics and outbreaks, says HHS. CDC will also absorb the U.S. Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, including approximately 1,000 of its employees.

About the planned restructuring and downsizing, new HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.), known for his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, said, “We aren't just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic. This department will do more—a lot more—at a lower cost to the taxpayer.” HHS claims that, in combination with early retirement initiatives and the “Fork in the Road” buyout program offered to federal employees shortly after President Trump took office, the layoffs will save $1.8 billion per year and result in a total HHS downsizing from 82,000 to 62,000 full-time employees.

In a March 27 interview with NewsNation's CUOMO, Secretary Kennedy also said the HHS cuts are focused on administrators, not front-line workers and scientists. He commented, “We have over 100 comms departments, 40 procurement departments, dozens of IT departments, dozens of HR departments, [and] none of them talk to each other. And what we're trying to do now is to streamline the agency, to eliminate the redundancies and to focus the mission... not cutting scientists. We're not cutting front line workers, we're cutting administrators, and we're consolidating the agency to make it more efficient.”

HHS also said that “the overhaul will implement the new HHS priority of ending America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins. These priorities will be reflected in the reorganization of HHS.”

However, not all food industry players are optimistic about what the reorganization of HHS means for food safety. Consumer Reports, a significant consumer protection watchdog group with a stake in the food industry, said about the newly announced HHS layoffs, “These staff cuts endanger public health and food safety, and they raise serious concerns that the administration’s pledge to make Americans healthy again could become nothing more than an empty promise. Despite recent encouraging statements about addressing infant formula safety and harmful food chemicals, mass layoffs will undermine these initiatives and hinder FDA’s ability to ensure our food is safe to eat.”