WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� When Health Secretary announced at his department last month, he said that wouldn't be impacted.
Those employees remain at the , but dozens of others who supported their work are gone. The departed staffers include people who booked complex international trips to , lab scientists who tested , and communication specialists who to urgent safety recalls.
The potential disruptions to are so great that agency leaders recently expedited plans to hire outside contractors to replace some fired workers, starting with those who arranged foreign travel, according to staffers with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity. Under FDA rules, staffers are prohibited from publicly discussing sensitive agency matters without permission.
The FDA has been struggling for years to ramp up inspections after a wave of longtime staffers resigned or retired during . Efforts to recruit new inspectors have been stymied by the demands of the job: months of travel, modest pay and grueling work under challenging overseas conditions.
鈥淚f you put all this together, even if you didn鈥檛 have a reduction in the number of people who do the inspections, you鈥檙e reducing their support,鈥� said Howard Sklamberg, an attorney who previously served as FDA's top inspection and enforcement official. 鈥淭he natural result is going to be fewer inspections.鈥�
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told podcaster Megyn Kelly in an episode posted Thursday that the cuts were to communications, legislative affairs and tech support positions.
鈥淭here were no cuts to scientific reviewers or inspectors or law enforcement at the FDA and my goal is to make sure that all of those people have the resources they need to do their job well,鈥� Makary said.
Agency cites efficiency, but union questions that
The latest cuts include 170 staffers in FDA鈥檚 Office of Inspections and Investigations, including all personnel who handled travel bookings, visas and security for inspectors working in Asia, South America and other regions.
Termination letters stated that those jobs were 鈥渦nnecessary or virtually identical鈥� to others in the agency. But that language is seemingly contradicted by plans to outsource the work to private companies.
The union representing FDA staff said the decision 鈥渋s not only reckless, it鈥檚 inefficient, costly and a significant risk to human life.鈥�
An HHS spokesperson said the cuts only impacted 鈥渁dministrative positions鈥� and would 鈥渕ake the agency more efficient and responsive.鈥� They did not answer questions about whether contractors would be cheaper or more efficient.
Sklamberg said the changes will likely lead to more departures, particularly among experienced inspectors, 鈥渂ecause of the environment that鈥檚 been created and the difficulty of working there.鈥�
The Government Accountability Office to develop new strategies for retaining inspectors, noting that attrition has outpaced hiring for years. As a result, the FDA is still conducting 36% fewer inspections today than before the pandemic.
There is no official tally of and many supervisors still don't how many of their employees have decided to take early retirement, buyouts and other offers designed to shrink the workforce.
鈥淭his could be devastating to the FDA in a way that they can鈥檛 even control,鈥� said Susan Mayne of Yale University, who previously directed the FDA鈥檚 food center.
Job cuts include roles that support RFK Jr.'s priorities
In the weeks leading up to the latest layoffs, senior FDA leaders prepared detailed plans for reducing staff without harming the agency鈥檚 core functions, according to two senior FDA staffers with direct knowledge of the work. But those proposals were never requested by, nor presented to, staffers working for who made the decisions.
Many of the firings targeted positions and teams with the words 鈥減olicy鈥� and 鈥渞egulation,鈥� in their titles. Other cuts appeared to target offices in parts of the country deemed more expensive.
At least 10 food scientists in FDA鈥檚 San Francisco testing laboratory were cut, according to an FDA staffer with direct knowledge of the program.
Rapidly testing food samples is critical to FDA鈥檚 inspection and enforcement work, allowing the agency to quickly shut down facilities producing tainted products and issue warning letters. The accuracy of that work is also key when FDA lawyers need to defend their actions in court.
Even roles that would seemingly support Kennedy鈥檚 stated goals 鈥� such as stricter regulation of food additives and chemicals 鈥� have been eliminated.
About 15 scientists working in FDA鈥檚 Division of Food Processing Science and Technology in Chicago lost their jobs. Their research included finding ways to identify and eliminate hazardous chemicals and reducing microplastics and other particles that can leach into packaged food.
FDA's food experts are grouped in different locations throughout the U.S.
"As they close these different sites you鈥檙e just losing entire skillsets and areas of expertise," Mayne said.
Public communications impacted by firings
Those remaining at the agency are now trying to pick up some of the critical tasks performed by their fired colleagues. That includes notifying consumers, industry and doctors about emerging safety issues, including food recalls, import alerts, drug side effects and supply shortages.
For many years, that work was mainly done by more than a dozen people in the agency鈥檚 media affairs office, which was eliminated earlier this month.
That鈥檚 left communications work to various staffers scattered throughout the agency鈥檚 centers handling hundreds of other issues involving food, drugs, vaccines, tobacco and other products.
Adding to the difficulty, nearly all public statements must now go through the HHS press office. It has only a handful of staffers, most of whom don鈥檛 have any background in FDA issues.
鈥淭here are certain things that used to function that are not functioning anymore,鈥� said one FDA staffer, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Matthew Perrone, The Associated Press
