HHS Admits Department Fired too Many Employees Through it Reduction in Force Efforts

In an October 14, 2025, court filing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) admitted that it had fired more employees than it meant to through a reduction in force (RIF). HHS meant to terminate 982 employees through the RIF but accidentally terminated 1,760 instead. HHS blamed administrative errors and indicated that it was attempting to rescind the RIF notices that were sent in error. In May 2026, HHS sent additional RIF notices to 78 employees who it said were "inadvertently not included" in the original April 2025 action because of similar data errors.