CDC Calls Nearly 200 Fired Workers Back, Apologizes for 'Disruption' [View all]

Source: Newsweek

Published Mar 05, 2025 at 4:58 PM EST | Updated Mar 05, 2025 at 7:03 PM EST


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reportedly invited nearly 200 employees laid off two weeks ago to return to work. "We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused," the health agency, whose primary job is fighting and monitoring disease outbreaks, said in an email to workers obtained by the Associated Press.

The emails were sent on Tuesday to 180 of the roughly 1,300 CDC employees who were terminated last month when the Trump administration slashed the agency's workforce by 10 percent.

Why It Matters

President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have forced out tens of thousands of federal workers since Trump took office to rapidly shrink the size of the government. Trump and Musk have sought to implement these cuts through a combination of layoffs for federal workers who don't yet have civil service protections, attrition and "deferred resignation" offers sent to almost the rest of the civil workforce.

The cuts have affected almost every government agency, including those that oversee the nation's nuclear arsenal, control the U.S. financial system, work on disease prevention, ensure the safety of the country's food supply, monitor natural disasters, and more.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/cdc-calls-nearly-200-fired-workers-back-apologizes-disruption-2040277