Thousands of employees at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were blindsided on Tuesday morning after discovering they had been laid off—not via formal notice, but when their work badges stopped functioning at security checkpoints.
As reported by Federal News Network, staff queued from as early as 5am, only to be turned away at the door. If their badge failed to work, they were publicly corralled and escorted to retrieve their belongings.
'It is so humiliating and degrading in the face of something so terrible,' one employee said.
Entire Offices Axed Overnight
The Trump administration has embarked on a drastic reduction of the federal workforce. HHS confirmed it had terminated 10,000 staff through a Reduction-in-Force (RIF), with another 10,000 expected to leave through early retirement or buyout schemes. The goal is to downsize the agency to 62,000 employees.
Entire departments were disbanded with no warning. 'Because entire offices of support staff have been let go, we're immediately running into problems,' said an FDA employee. 'One of our labs shut down today because we've run out of supplies due to the halt on procurement.'
Confusion reigned among employees receiving termination letters. Some were told to direct Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints to staff who had already left the agency or, in one case, a director who died in 2024. 'It's more traumatising for that staff, referencing their dead EEO director,' one worker noted.
Critical Services for the Vulnerable in Jeopardy
Programmes serving elderly, disabled and low-income Americans are now at risk. The Administration for Community Living (ACL) lost up to 40% of its staff. Meals on Wheels, which provides over 200 million meals annually to seniors and the disabled, is among the services facing disruption.
'There's no way to have these RIFs and not impact the programmes and the people who rely on them,' said Alison Barkoff, former ACL director.
All staff overseeing the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)—a lifeline for six million households struggling to afford heating and cooling—were also dismissed.
'Ultimately, I believe the programme will crumble from within without the federal office there to manage it,' said former fiscal director Andrew Germain. 'You're talking about individuals who rely on crisis assistance... to keep the power on, whether for a medical reason or some other potentially life-threatening purpose.'
Disruptions to Research and Health Innovation
Even scientific and regulatory offices were not spared. At the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, Director Brian King was placed on administrative leave after nearly three years of service. In an email to staff, he wrote: 'We obeyed the law. We followed the science. We told the truth.'
Families reliant on HHS research fear major setbacks. Keith Van Houten, whose son has muscular dystrophy, said: 'We're really fearful about what's going to happen. Are we going to lose the momentum that we have?'
Lawmakers Sound the Alarm
Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro condemned the move as 'senseless and irresponsible', warning that 'Americans will die because of these actions'.
'Elon Musk and President Trump do not care about helping the middle class, working families, or the vulnerable,' she said. 'They care only about paying for tax breaks for billionaires.'
With entire federal programmes crippled and the future of essential services uncertain, critics say the layoffs have dealt a devastating blow to some of America's most vulnerable communities.
