FDA rehires staff to its medical devices division after mass layoffs

The Trump administration is reinstating some employees in the Food and Drug Administration's medical devices division after dozens were laid off as part of a government-wide cost-cutting initiative led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Around 180 employees from the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, including physicians and cybersecurity experts, were let go on Feb. 15, two workers said they were told by their supervisors.

“These people are indispensable,” one said. "Many of these roles require so much training and specialization and are so important for keeping people alive."

The medical devices division is responsible for approving and monitoring the safety of a range of products, from X-ray machines to surgical implants.

Many of the employees who were initially let go were so-called probationary hires, meaning that they had been in their roles for less than two years, the two people said. Some supervisors found out about the terminations at the same time as their employees, one added.

Some employees received a phone call or an email from FDA officials that their termination had been rescinded as early as Friday, although others hadn't learned they had gotten their jobs back until late Sunday or Monday, according to one source. One email, shared by the individual, noted that their IT and security access had been restored and were told to reach out to their supervisor for additional questions.

It’s unclear how many employees were offered their jobs back, or how many would ultimately return.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA, declined to comment.

One source said they believe the majority of the roughly two dozen people who were fired from the cardiac devices unit — which oversees devices such as pacemakers and implantable defibrillators — to come back.

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AdvaMed, a trade group for the medical device industry, had pushed back against the job cuts last week, saying in a statement on Feb. 18 that the firings “could have a very negative impact on patient care in this country.”

Medical device makers, similar to drug companies, pay user fees to the FDA to have their products reviewed. One source said there were concerns that the job cuts could delay device approvals by months or years. The time lost by the brief job cuts is already expected to delay some work, the source said.

Separately, FDA employees got an email Monday from Sara Brenner, the FDA's acting commissioner, that Kyle Diamantas, a lawyer at the firm Jones Day in Miami, had been named the head of the human foods division following Jim Jones' resignation last week, according to two sources.

An archived version of Diamantas' Jones Day bio said he's worked on litigation on prescription drugs, infant formula, cannabidiol, talcum powder and various other food, cosmetic and consumer products, according to the Wayback Machine.