More than 100 government employees have been ordered to return to work, just weeks after the Trump administration let them go.
On Tuesday (March 4), around 180 former employees of the US' top public health agency, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were summoned back to their jobs in an email, just two weeks after the Trump administration terminated their employment.
Those targeted for the sack were recent hires on probationary employment and received a notification that their employment status had changed again, asking them to return the next day (Wednesday), as per AP.
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The email reportedly started with the subject line: "Read this e-mail immediately."
It then went on to say 'after further review and consideration', a termination notice dated February 15 has been cancelled.
"You should return to duty under your previous work schedule,” it continued. “We apologize for any disruption that this may have caused."
Two federal health officials told the news outlet about 180 staff members received the reinstatement emails.
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Among those who were dismissed and called back included outbreak responders in two fellowship programs, a two-year training scheme that trains graduates up for careers in public health with hands-on experience and a laboratory program.
In February, Trump officials told the CDC that around 1,300 of its 13,000-strong workforce would be let go, primarily probationary staff, which then changed to around 700 to 750 amid wider efforts to cut staff numbers.
Now, it appears that actual figure is around 550, though officials haven't confirmed any numbers yet.
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The Atlanta-based agency is responsible for protecting US citizens from outbreaks and other public health concerns.
It is unclear how many returned to their roles this week and if they are protected from any future job cuts that the Trump administration, spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), is continuing to roll out at full speed.
It isn't the first time the government has asked sacked staff to take their jobs back either, with similar reversals being made in roles from medical devices and food safety to bird flu, nuclear weapons and national parks.
This week, the billionaire tech mogul's task force cut all but one staff member to run the Inter-American Foundation, an independent US foreign assistance agency.
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An alleged leaked memo further indicates Veterans Affairs could be next on the chopping block, with around 80,000 employees vulnerable of being axed from the agency which has already lost 1,000 workers.
DOGE is also reportedly looking at slashing the Internal Revenue Service in half with as many as 90,000 staff members possibly facing termination, plus another 3,000 in the Forest Service and 5,000 already cut from national parks, forests and other federal public lands, reports The Guardian.
The latest CDC changes come as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said there would be 'radical transparency' in the department.
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Meanwhile, agency spokesman, Andrew Nixon, told AP that the CDC had more full-time employees on the payroll than it did prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
US Senator, Raphael Warnock, (Democrat - Georgia) said in a statement about the swift reversals: "Today’s announcement is a welcome relief, but until all fired CDC employees are restored, our country’s public health and national security will continue to be at risk."
Topics: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Health
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