The US Department of Health and Human Services cut 10,000 official employees, streamlining half of the apparatus.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on March 27 that it would cut 10,000 full-time employees in health agencies, according to CNN.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the above official staff reduction after 10,000 employees voluntarily left their jobs, shrinking the HHS workforce from about 82,000 full-time employees to 62,000.

The US Department of Health and Human Services building in Washington DC on March 27.

In addition, about 5,200 probationary employees were terminated last month. Most of those probationary employees are on leave while their fate awaits a decision in federal court. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said probationary employees were not included in the latest layoff announcement.

In a new announcement, HHS said it will consolidate from 28 to 15 divisions and will cut regional offices from 10 to five. HHS estimates the workforce reduction will save $1.8 billion a year.

HHS said its new priority would be to end "America's chronic disease epidemic by focusing on safe, healthy food, clean water, and removing environmental toxins."

US withdraws HIV/AIDS support, millions of lives threatened

“We are not just reducing sprawling bureaucracy. We are realigning the organization around our core mission and new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “The department will do more at less cost to taxpayers,” Kennedy added.

In a video posted on social media X on March 27, Mr. Kennedy acknowledged that this would be a "painful period" as health agencies downsized, but promised that the agencies would be more efficient, do more with less, and focus on a new mission. "No American will be left behind. I want every HHS employee to wake up every morning and ask themselves, 'What can I do to restore the health of Americans today?'" Mr. Kennedy emphasized.

Meanwhile, public health experts say that with such a large number of permanent staff cuts, maintaining services will be a challenge given the current public health workload, according to CNN.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bo-y-te-my-cat-giam-10000-nhan-vien-chinh-thuc-tinh-gon-mot-nua-bo-may-185250328080518741.htm