The US Department of Health and Human Services provided a federal judge with new details on planned workforce reductions issued during the government shutdown, the latest update in the Trump administration’s battle with federal worker unions that puts hundreds of jobs at stake.
Provided by Thomas J. Nagy Jr., the HHS deputy assistant secretary for human resources/chief human capital officer, the numbers come in response to a court order for the Trump administration to pause certain workforce reductions.
The most comprehensive look at the HHS shutdown reduction effort thus far, the document lays out which HHS agencies were hit with notices, along with the number of workers protected by the court order and details on where they’re staffed.
Filed Wednesday, the document comes after President Donald Trump carried through on his threats to initiate a new wave of layoffs during the government shutdown that began in October, sending termination notices to at least 4,100 employees.
About 1,760 workers received termination notices at the HHS, many of which Nagy in October admitted to being unintentional, issued on account of “data discrepancies and processing errors.”
In a lawsuit brought by federal labor unions, the court has since ordered the federal government to hold off on layoffs. US District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Susan Illston issued a preliminary injunction Oct. 28 that “enjoins further shutdown-related layoffs” and “pauses the clock on those RIF notices that have issued during the shutdown until this lawsuit can be resolved.”
Wednesday’s document says that among the more than 950 people who were hit with notices, 807 are protected by the scope of the workforce reduction pause.
Among the HHS sections with layoffs currently on pause are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Not all HHS employees hit with notices are protected by Illston’s order. Those not covered include a number of workers in the CDC’s Immediate Office of the Director and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal & Child Health Bureau.
The HHS in particular has faced broad cuts and reorganization under the new administration, with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April announcing a reduction in force of about 10,000 employees.
The case is AFGE v. OMB, N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-08302, declaration filed 11/4/25
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