Morale falls on CDC as staff are afraid of losing work – public radio in South Carolina

The staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are on the edge this week as rumors are spreading to cut jobs. Employees are preparing for a significant reduction in the workforce, which seems to be aimed at those with the least of the workers’ protection.

Agency’s employees were notified in emails that all centers, institutes and offices have received a list of members of their employees who are in test or temporary condition, according to a senior CDC employee who requested anonymity as they were not authorized to They talk about this topic about The Topic Agency.

The senior leaders were asked to determine who in the list was critical of the mission, not a critical mission, the source that had direct knowledge of actions, told the NPR.

Those who are considered temporary or test employees will include new supervisory authorities, fellows, and others with appointments of Title 42 hired for being highly qualified. This is a wide range of employees – from the last rents that represent the pipeline of new talents to senior scientists with many years of experience.

The loss of even half of these workers would be “devastating” to the current reactions of the agency’s disease epidemic, which includes H5N1 bird flu, measles and MPOX, the source says.

The action sent chills throughout the agency, which monitor the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the USAID and its broader impetus to reduce the federal workforce.

This is the most in a series of actions taken by the Trump administration in the name of efficiency and ideological alignment, including freezing of external communications and clearing the CDC website and data sets to comply with Trump’s executive orders About gender and variety, justice and inclusion.

Reading data initiated at the end of last week has left some scientists at the agency, relying on CDC data reserved by external groups, the CDC source confirmed.

All this has made the agency less effective in monitoring the risk of disease and transmitting potential dangers and will be exacerbated by the “upcoming, probable loss of valuable staff,” a man said a few weeks ago. ”

The staff who has experienced other changes to the CDC administration say the transition was unlike anything they experienced before, with “less meetings, less requests for information” and a small attempt to understand how things work , says a former CDC employee with experience through several administrations who have resigned in the last few weeks.

Another senior CDC employee, who has recently resigned, is alarmed by the prospect of mass cuts, given the legal protection that exists for the agency’s employees, even employees who are in their test period.

“It is extremely difficult and traumatic for the federal employee to see the reporting of this as if he were fulfilled and legal,” said the former employee who asked for anonymity to NPR.

“CDC employees I have known and have worked with for over 25 years have been dedicated to civil servants and do not deserve to be abused in this way.”

Edited by Jane Greinhalg

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