4d ago

Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products

apnews.com Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products

The Trump administration’s effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend.

Summary

The Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts have reached the FDA, with employees in food safety, medical devices, and tobacco oversight being fired.

The exact number is unclear, but the layoffs are part of a broader Health and Human Services plan to eliminate 5,200 jobs.

Critics warn the firings will weaken oversight and innovation, especially as the FDA struggles with staffing shortages.

Former officials argue the cuts will demoralize employees and hinder recruitment. The agency also faces a backlog of uninspected drug facilities.

11 comments

Remember, Dept of Health and Human Services scientists and staff are some of the few people who are duty bound to helping all Americans and have no interest in their wallets or corporate profits. We don’t deserve this.

Poisonous food here we come!
- Welcome back to THE JUNGLE

As someone with a medical device, I do not like this. :D
- As someone working for a medical device company, I too don't like this.
  
  As an owner of a medical device company, I like this very much
  
  I wonder if, once the numbers for the Trump Recession start coming in (and we see stock market plunges, etc) if it will start changing anything.
- i am in cybersecurity and IT. i saw a huge cyber attack on Bluetooth-enabled devices at an event a while back, and it put several people with Bluetooth-enabled insulin pumps in the hospital.
  i recently discovered that a good friend of mine has an insulin pump. i am legitimately worried about her safety as a result, and even more so after seeing this.
  i also do not like this :D

Oh man, we're really going to see the return of thousands of people dead from, y'know, poison in food etc, aren't we?

And then, “for national security,” Canada drop food imports and non essential medication from the US regardless of its Nafta 2.0 signature. Anyway the US made it clear that this trade deal isn’t binding. Other developed economies in Europe and Pacific will do the same as soon as they aren’t the first one to do so… So much winning and greatness in America.

The exact number is unclear, but the layoffs are part of a broader Health and Human Services plan to eliminate 5,200 jobs.
Wiki says HHS has 83,500 employees, so that represents 6.3%.
Now that I read the article, that 5200 is just probationary workers, they definitely want to lay off more.

11 comments