The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) offered its 80,000 employees a $25,000 buyout offer as part of President Trump’s plan to scale back government spending.
Workers can opt into the buyout starting Monday and have until Friday to accept the deal. The offer was sent to staff across HHS, which includes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration, The Associated Press reported.
The email went to a “broad population of HHS employees” and comes just days before the department has to report to the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Trump signed an executive order last month directing all agencies to prepare for a reduction in force, looking for a way to have “large-scale” layoffs.
HHS is one of the government’s more costly agencies, with a $1.7 trillion annual budget largely spent on Medicare and Medicaid services, the AP noted.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he has a list in mind of potential firings and hinted that there would be deep cuts at the department.
There are concerns that DOGE will gain access to the department’s information and cut programs that could have serious implications.
Public health experts have warned that there will be a major brain drain that could have dire impacts as the department already experiences thousands of layoffs.
The reduction in HHS workforce comes as the CDC and other agencies work to combat the measles outbreak in Texas as more cases continue to crop up in various communities.
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