The Trump administration’s cuts to the federal workforce have spread to the FDA, leading to layoffs of newly hired probationary staff at centers for food, medical devices, and tobacco products, including vapes.
Trump administration’s ‘mass layoffs’ continue
According to Apnews on Feb. 17. The Trump administration’s moves to cut the federal workforce spread to the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, with newly hired employees responsible for food composition and safety inspections set to be laid off.
According to three unnamed FDA employees, the FDA probationary employee was notified Saturday night that his position was terminated. The job cuts are focused on employees at food, medical device, and tobacco products centers, including vape brands. It is not clear whether it includes drug review employees.
FDA E-Cigarette Regulatory Positions Cut
On Friday, 5,200 probationary employees, including those at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the FDA, were laid off by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which announced plans to lay off employees. The FDA is headquartered in suburban Maryland near Washington and employs nearly 20,000 people.
The new health secretary. Robert Kennedy Jr. has long seen the FDA as a target and charged that the agency’s failure to allow unproven treatments such as psychedelics, stem cell therapy, and hypnotherapy constitutes a “war” on public health.
Kennedy Jr. also called for the removal of thousands of chemical compounds and colors from American food. However, according to FDA employees familiar with the layoffs, the cuts also involve employees responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients.
A Health Ministry spokesman did not respond to a request for assessment Sunday afternoon. Nearly half of the FDA’s $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by those it regulates, including drug and medical device manufacturers, which allows the agency to quickly hire scientists to conduct product reviews, so the cuts will not reduce government spending.
Former FDA officials warn that firing new employees could backfire. These employees are typically younger and have the latest technical skills. The FDA has long faced difficulties with private companies offering better wages.
Mitch Zeller, former director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, called the cuts “a way to demoralize and undermine the federal workforce.”
- “Their measures will hurt their ability to attract and retain talent.”
The FDA’s ranks have come under pressure in recent years amid a wave of COVID-19 departures, and many current inspectors are new hires. It is unclear whether those employees have been excluded. FDA inspectors oversee thousands of food, drug, tobacco, and medical device facilities around the world. Still, Apnews reported last year that the agency is facing a backlog of inspections at about 2,000 facilities due to the outbreak.
