Hundreds of FDA Employees Get Termination Letters
The Trump Administration fired hundreds of FDA probationary employees over the weekend as part of its efforts to shrink government spending. Media reports indicated that a substantial number of terminations were at CDRH, and it appears that cuts to staff were widespread and affected those conducting drug inspections and working on artificial intelligence-related submissions and digital health programs, according to statnews.com. Up to 700 FDA staff were given termination letters, according to the New York Times.
HHS spokespeople are not revealing the exact number of terminations at FDA, saying only that the Department is “following the Administration’s guidance and taking action to support the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government. Even after all personnel changes made since January 20th (both the Fork in the Road and probationary terminations), FDA still has 1,979 more full time employees” than in fiscal year 2019, HHS said in a statement provided to FDA Webview.
The termination notices sent to agency employees reportedly used similar language and cited inadequate performance as the reason for their firing. “Unfortunately, the agency finds you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the agency’s current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the agency,” said letters reviewed by several media outlets.
Reuters is reporting that several CDRH employees reviewing Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink were let go as part of the purge. It said about 20 people were fired in the Center’s neurological and physical medicine devices unit, several of whom worked on Neuralink’s clinical trial applications. Sources told Reuters that they did not believe the employees were specifically targeted because of their work on the company’s applications. Additionally, CDRH Office of Product Evaluation and Quality director Ross Segan was also one of those let go. He joined the agency last September, replacing William Maisel who retired earlier in the year (see story).
FDA’s efforts to reorganize and revamp its oversight of foods in the wake of recent baby formula recalls have also taken a big hit when the agency’s chief food official resigned 2/17, citing the “indiscriminate firing” of 89 staff members from the agency’s food program, among other issues. “I was looking forward to working to pursue the Department’s agenda of improving the health of Americans by reducing diet-related chronic disease and risks from chemicals in food,” FDA deputy commissioner for human foods Jim Jones wrote in his resignation letter obtained by the Washington Post. “It has been increasingly clear that with the Trump Administration’s disdain for the very people necessary to implement your agenda, however, it would have been fruitless for me to continue in this role.”
Meanwhile, former FDA commissioner Robert Califf had this to say on Linkedin: “I am grieving for the many talented & dedicated FDA employees who have been mistreated & those left to do the work of protecting public health. Also for those who will be harmed by this among patients and the public. Those who are complicit in their silence will be judged harshly by history.”
Former CDRH Digital Health Center of Excellence deputy director Brendan O’Leary did not hold back in a separate Linkedin post, saying: “DOGE dilettantes have dismissed some of the FDA’s most talented medical device experts, including people with difficult to find skills for assessing AI- and ML-enabled medical devices. “If you’re a technology developer or investor, this administration may have just blown up your plans and your time-to-market estimates. If you’re one of the many people who would stand to benefit from new and improved medical device technologies, those benefits are that much less likely to be realized now. For what?”