WASHINGTON: The U.S. Department of Health has decided to lay off 10,000 permanent employees.
According to US media, 10,000 employees of the health department have already resigned voluntarily. The number of permanent employees of the department will be reduced from 82,000 to 62,000 after the new dismissals.
Major changes are also being made in the organizational structure of the Department of Health under which the 28 branches of the agency are being reduced to 15 while the number of regional offices will be reduced from 10 to five.
According to the Department of Health, these measures will save the national exchequer $1.8 billion annually.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said, “We’re not just reducing bureaucracy, we’re realigning the agency to fit its core mission and new priorities.” He added that the department will do more work at less cost.
According to the media, the employees are likely to be sent dismissal notices from Friday and the decision to dismiss them is likely to be implemented from May 27.
The Trump administration has previously fired thousands of employees from other departments, including the Department of Education and USAID.
