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Approximately 600 employees at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have been terminated, Fox News Digital has confirmed.
This restructuring initiative follows a key announcement in March by the Department of Health and Human Services regarding significant changes. The plan includes a reduction in the CDC’s workforce by about 2,400 jobs, aiming to refocus efforts on their fundamental role of epidemic and outbreak response.
A representative from the American Federation of Government Employees informed Fox News that around 600 CDC staff members would receive final layoff notifications this week. These workforce reductions affect various sectors within the agency, such as the Division of Violence Prevention, and other essential offices like the EEO, FOIA, and financial resources.
The CDC has verified the recent staff reduction of approximately 600 positions, referring back to the March declaration. This announcement also included the transformation of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) as part of the CDC to better unify disaster and emergency health responses. The planned decrease of CDC personnel is noted to involve only 1,400 positions, considering an estimated 1,000 personnel are transferring from ASPR.
Tom Simon, a retired senior director of scientific programs at the CDC’s Division of Violence Prevention, highlighted to the Associated Press the irreplaceable value of some experts being dismissed.
The latest cuts come less than two weeks after a man fired at least 180 bullets into the CDC’s campus and killed a police officer.
Kennedy has been pushing other policy changes at the CDC.
In a related development, Kennedy declared in May that the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and expectant mothers would be omitted from the CDC’s suggested immunization list. Instead, the CDC now advocates for “shared clinical decision-making” for children between 6 months and 17 years who are not severely immune-compromised, suggesting that vaccination decisions should involve discussions between families and their healthcare professionals rather than being viewed as compulsory.
In a photo taken on July 30, 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is seen speaking at a Health Technology event held in the East Room of the White House. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Kennedy made the decision in June to fire all 17 members of the CDC’s independent advisory council on vaccines and named eight replacements in a step he said was aimed at “restoring public trust in vaccines.”
Earlier this week, the HHS secretary blasted the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for going against CDC guidance to recommend that all children 6 to 23 months old receive a complete COVID-19 vaccine series.
Kennedy shared a screenshot from the pediatricians’ association’s website, which thanks pharmaceutical companies Merck, Moderna, Pfizer and Sanofi as its top corporate donors.
“These four companies make virtually every vaccine on the CDC recommended childhood vaccine schedule. AAP is angry that CDC has eliminated corporate influence in decisions over vaccine recommendations and returned CDC to gold-standard science and evidence-based medicine laser-focused on children’s health,” Kennedy wrote.
