Table of Contents
October 2025: Government Shutdown Layoffs – 1,300 Initial Notices, 700 Reversed
Massive Friday Night Layoff Notices
On October 10, 2025, the CDC sent layoff notices to approximately 1,300 employees late Friday night during the second week of the government shutdown. This represented one of the most chaotic layoff episodes in CDC history.
Immediate Reversals and “Coding Error”
Within hours, the Trump administration reversed approximately 700 of the 1,300 layoff notices on Saturday, October 11, 2025. An HHS official claimed the erroneous notifications resulted from a “coding error” in the layoff system.
Departments Initially Affected
The layoffs initially targeted multiple critical divisions:
- National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: 132 workers
- National Center for Health Statistics
- CDC Washington office: Entire office targeted for closure
- Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) staff: All personnel initially terminated
- Epidemic Intelligence Service: Approximately 70 “disease detectives”
- National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases: Over 130 employees
- Human Resources departments
- Congressional outreach teams
Key Personnel Initially Terminated (Later Reversed)
- Athalia Christie: CDC measles response incident commander
- Maureen Bartee: Senior infectious disease expert
- MMWR editorial staff: Critical public health publication team
- Global Health Center leadership
Final Impact After Reversals
Approximately 600 employees remained terminated after the reversals, affecting:
- Violence prevention programs
- CDC Washington office operations
- Injury prevention centers
- Health statistics divisions
Legal Challenges and Union Response
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) filed lawsuits challenging the layoffs as unlawful. Union representatives condemned the firings as an “unlawful abuse of power”.
August 2025: CDC Director Firing and Mass Resignations
CDC Director Susan Monarez Fired – August 27, 2025
Dr. Susan Monarez, who had served as CDC Director for less than one month after being sworn in on July 31, 2025, was fired by the Trump administration on August 27, 2025.
Monarez’s Refusal to Comply
According to her attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell: “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to endorse unscientific and reckless directives and chose not to dismiss committed health professionals, she prioritized public safety over political interests”.
White House Statement on Firing
White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated: “Susan Monarez does not align with the President’s mission of Making America Healthy Again… Given that Susan Monarez refused to resign after notifying the leadership of the Health and Human Services Department of her intentions, the White House has decided to terminate her position at the CDC”.
Mass Senior Leadership Resignations
Following Monarez’s firing, four senior CDC officials resigned in protest:
- Dr. Debra Houry: CDC Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director
- Dr. Demetre Daskalakis: Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
- Dr. Daniel Jernigan: Director, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
- Dr. Jennifer Layden: Director, Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology
600 Employee Terminations – August 2025
Simultaneously with the director crisis, 600 CDC employees received permanent termination notices in August 2025.
Divisions Affected by August Layoffs
- Division of Violence Prevention: Approximately 100 employees
- Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
- Various support and administrative functions
Timing Controversy
The layoffs occurred less than two weeks after a shooting incident at CDC’s Atlanta headquarters on August 8, 2025, where a gunman fired over 500 rounds, killing a DeKalb Police Officer.
Union Criticism of August Layoffs
AFGE statement: “The harsh decision to proceed with these unlawful separations right after a violent incident on campus contradicts their declared commitments to support the recovery of CDC staff and undermines our Agency’s stability”.
July 2025: Supreme Court Clearing and Mass Finalization
Supreme Court Decision Enables Layoffs
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in July 2025 cleared the way for the Trump administration to finalize 10,000 layoffs across federal health agencies, including the CDC.
Final Termination of 2,400 CDC Employees
On July 15, 2025, HHS finalized the layoffs of 2,400 CDC employees who had been on paid administrative leave since April. This represented approximately 18% of the CDC’s workforce.
Employee Notification Process
Affected workers received emails stating: “Thank you for your service to the American people” as they were removed from the payroll. Some employees only learned they were terminated when their building access badges stopped working.
April 2025: Initial Mass Layoffs – 2,400 CDC Employees
RFK Jr.’s Major Restructuring Announcement
On April 1, 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initiated the largest workforce reduction in CDC history, announcing layoffs affecting more than 10,000 HHS employees, including 2,400 CDC staff.
Paid Administrative Leave Period
The 2,400 affected CDC employees were initially placed on paid administrative leave while legal challenges proceeded through the courts. This meant employees continued receiving salaries but were prohibited from working.
Court Protection for Some Employees
A federal judge in Rhode Island issued preliminary rulings protecting employees in specific CDC divisions:
- Smoking prevention programs
- Reproductive health initiatives
- Environmental health departments
- Workplace safety divisions
- Birth defects research
- Sexually transmitted disease programs
Divisions Initially Targeted
The April layoffs aimed to eliminate approximately one-fifth of the CDC’s workforce, targeting:
- Administrative support functions
- Research and surveillance teams
- Communication departments
- Policy development offices
- International health programs
March 2025: RFK Jr.’s Restructuring Vision
Kennedy’s 20,000 Employee Reduction Plan
In March 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his intention to eliminate 20,000 positions across HHS, representing a reduction of more than 20% of the department’s workforce.
Kennedy’s Stated Rationale
Kennedy framed the restructuring as necessary to “make America healthy again with a special focus on the chronic disease epidemic” and to deliver “more efficient, responsive, and effective service” while “cutting costs for taxpayers”.
CDC Specific Targeting
The March announcement specifically identified the CDC for major cuts, with Kennedy having previously labeled the agency as “the most corrupt government agency”.
Key Figures and Statements Throughout 2025
RFK Jr.’s Anti-CDC Rhetoric
Throughout 2025, Kennedy consistently criticized the CDC:
- Called it “the most corrupt federal agency”
- Accused CDC workforce of “killing children”
- Promoted vaccine misinformation and dismantled the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory panel
Employee and Expert Reactions
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis (former NCIRD Director): “CDC is over. It was killed… This administration only knows how to destroy things. They have jeopardized America with the potential for outbreaks and threats from malicious entities”.
Dr. Nirav Shah (former Principal Deputy Director): “This is sheer managerial incompetence… I used to think that chaos was merely a consequence of managerial failure. Now, I question whether the chaos is the actual goal”.
Anonymous CDC employee: “The administration was dissatisfied with CDC data that contradicted their narrative, leading to these dismissals. They also opposed the CDC policy teams for not endorsing their scientifically unfounded ideas”.
Impact on Public Health Operations
Critical Functions Disrupted
The layoffs significantly impacted:
- Disease surveillance and monitoring
- Outbreak response capabilities
- International health partnerships
- Violence prevention programs
- Vaccine policy development
Loss of Institutional Knowledge
Tom Simon (retired CDC Violence Prevention senior director): “There are nationally and internationally recognized experts that will be impossible to replace”.
Workforce Statistics
- January 2025: 13,674 CDC employees
- Before October layoffs: 11,400 employees
- After all 2025 layoffs: Approximately 10,300 employees
Total 2025 Impact
The CDC lost approximately 3,374 employees throughout 2025, representing a 25% workforce reduction from the beginning of the year.
Legal and Administrative Context
Court Battles
Multiple federal court cases challenged the layoffs throughout 2025, with varying degrees of success in protecting different CDC divisions.
Administrative Chaos
The repeated reversals of layoff notices, particularly in October 2025, highlighted significant administrative dysfunction in the implementation of workforce reductions.
Government Shutdown Connection
The October 2025 layoffs were explicitly tied to the government shutdown, with President Trump stating he would target “Democrat-oriented” employees.
This comprehensive restructuring of the CDC throughout 2025 represents the most significant disruption to America’s premier public health agency in its history, fundamentally altering its capacity to protect public health and respond to disease outbreaks.
