Dept. of Health poised to purge thousands of workers: report

Thousands of federal workers are set to be purged by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to a report.

The forthcoming executive order intends to fire "thousands" of employees, those familiar told the Wall Street Journal.

The firings will come from the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health agencies under the HHS umbrella, according to the report.

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The goal is to reach a "percentage of employees" that must be purged out of the 80,000-person workforce.

Those familiar with the matter told the Journal they've been offered an opportunity to resign but get their pay and benefits for the next eight months. It's a similar agreement given to other agencies. However, public sector unions say the agreements have confusing fine print.

The details of the health worker purge have yet to be completed, but the report said the order is expected next week.

"The agencies are responsible for a range of functions, from approving new drugs to tracing bird-flu outbreaks and researching cancer," said The Journal report. "A loss of staff could affect the efforts depending on which workers are cut and whether they are concentrated in particular areas."

The White House has denied the report.