WASHINGTON — The US Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday it is cutting 10,000 full-time employees across health agencies, the department told CNN.

This comes on top of 10,000 employees who’ve left voluntarily, amounting to shrinking by about a quarter of the workforce.

The cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

In its announcement, HHS said it will consolidate from 28 to 15 divisions, including a new Administration for a Healthy America, and will reduce regional offices from 10 to five. The workforce reduction will save $1.8 billion per year, the agency said.

HHS’ new priority will be to end “America’s epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins,” the agency said.

“We aren’t just reducing bureaucratic sprawl. We are realigning the organization with its core mission and our new priorities in reversing the chronic disease epidemic,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “This Department will do more – a lot more – at a lower cost to the taxpayer.”

HHS said Thursday that cuts will include:

• 3,500 full-time employees at the US Food and Drug Administration, not affecting drug, medical device or food reviewers or inspectors

• 2,400 employees at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

• 1,200 employees at the National Institutes of Health by centralizing procurement, human resources and communications

• 300 employees at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Among the changes will be a new Administration for a Health America, which will combine the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Health Resources and Services Administration, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. HHS said it will focus on areas such as primary care, maternal and child health, mental health, environmental health, HIV/AIDS and workforce development.

HHS will also create a new assistant secretary for enforcement, who will oversee the Office for Civil Rights, Office of Medicare Hearings and Appeals and the Departmental Appeals Board.

A new Office of Strategy will combine the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality “to enhance research that informs the Secretary’s policies and improves the effectiveness of federal health programs.”

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, which handles disaster and public healthy emergency responses, will move under the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Administration for Community Living, which support older adults and people with disabilities, will be integrated into other HHS agencies.

Cuts to take effect in May

HHS sent a formal reduction in force, or RIF, notice to American Federation of Government Employees union leaders early on Thursday morning.

About 8,000 to 10,000 employees will be affected by the layoffs, with the probable effective date being May 27, said the email, which was sent by Thomas J. Nagy Jr., deputy assistant secretary for human resources at HHS, and viewed by CNN.

Specific notices to employees may be sent as soon as Friday, the email said.

The reductions are mainly aimed at administrative jobs, including human resources, information technology, procurement and finance, according to the email. It will also target roles in high-cost regions and employees in areas that have been deemed redundant or duplicative within HHS or across the federal government.

The union was asked to advise if or when it would like to start negotiating on impact and implementation.

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