According to a report from AP News on February 17, the Trump administration's cuts to the federal workforce have spread to the FDA over the weekend, leading to the dismissal of newly hired employees responsible for food ingredient and safety inspections.
According to three anonymous FDA employees, probationary employees at the FDA received notice on Saturday evening (the 15th) that their positions were being eliminated. The layoffs primarily affected employees in the Center for Food, Medical Devices, and Tobacco, and may also involve staff working on e-cigarette products, although it is not yet clear if drug review staff are included.
Last Friday (14th), the Department of Health and Human Services in the United States announced plans to lay off 5200 probationary employees within its various agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the FDA. The FDA, headquartered in the suburbs of Maryland near Washington, has nearly 20,000 employees.
The newly-appointed Secretary of Health, Robert Kennedy Jr., has long targeted the FDA, accusing the agency of failing to approve unproven therapies such as psychedelics, stem cell therapy, and chelation therapy, which he believes poses a "war" on public health.
Little Kennedy also called for the removal of thousands of chemicals and colors from American food. However, FDA employees familiar with the layoffs have revealed that the layoffs also involve employees responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Health did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday afternoon (16th). Nearly half of the FDA's $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by its regulated entities, including drug and medical device manufacturers, which allows the FDA to quickly hire scientists to review products, therefore layoffs will not decrease government spending.
A former FDA official has warned that laying off new employees could backfire, as these employees are typically younger and equipped with the latest technological skills. The FDA has long faced difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff due to private companies offering better salaries.
Former FDA Center for Tobacco Products director Mitch Zeller said the layoffs are a way of "hitting and weakening the morale of federal employees.
Their measures will undermine the ability to attract and retain talent.
In recent years, with the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and a wave of resignations, the FDA workforce is under pressure with many of its current inspectors being new hires. It is unclear if these employees have been excluded. FDA inspectors are responsible for overseeing thousands of food, drug, tobacco, and medical device facilities globally, but according to an AP news report last year, the agency faced a backlog of inspections at approximately 2,000 facilities due to the pandemic.
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