At least 50 per cent of the employees of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), who were suddenly terminated on 10 October 2025, have got their jobs back. How?
Well, on 10 October, about 1,300 employees were issued termination orders as part of the ongoing headcount-reduction exercise across the federal government in the US. However, about 700 of them were informed soon after that their termination had happened by mistake due to some coding error, following which they were reinstated.
According to the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the body that represents federal workers, at least 50 per cent who received notifications were not actually laid off, and have been asked to return to work.
Among those who have returned to work are employees working for the CDC’s publication, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and also officials from the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS). Those not reinstated include employees in the Washington, DC office of CDC and staff members of the Violence Prevention and Injury Centres.
There has also been additional pressure from unions as well as the public that mass layoffs of this nature will adversely affect the population in general. This is because the disease-response activities will be delayed and inefficient due to shortage of staff. These employees are indispensable when it comes to keeping the public-health infrastructure running. Their absence amidst outbreaks can be fatal.
