The United States Department of Agriculture shared on Tuesday that it accidentally fired “several” employees with the agency who were working on the H5N1 avian flu outbreak.
The agency said it is now working to rehire those who were let go as the outbreak continues to decimate flocks of chickens, sicken dairy cows, and drive prices up at the store.
“Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. “USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission.”
Politico reported on Sunday that President Donald Trump’s layoffs hit the National Animal Laboratory Network, which was involved in the avian flu research. The USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were also affected by the layoffs.
The cuts were made as President Trump continues to try and reduce the federal government’s workforce as a means to cut costs and increase efficiency.
Several positions with the USDA were already exempt from the cuts, but the department added that it “continues to prioritize the response to highly pathogenic avian influenza.”
The latest round of layoffs have affected numerous departments, from the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Serviceto the Department of Defense.
However, the Trump administration may be making the cuts in haste, as the USDA employees aren’t the only ones to be laid off prematurely. Last Friday, the administration notified some nuclear safety employees who were fired last week that they were being reinstated. However, according to reports from NBC News, they were struggling to find them because the administration didn’t have up-to-date contact information.
As for the USDA’s firings, the decision to cut staff in the departments comes as chicken flocks, including egg-laying hens, have been decimated across the country, driving up the cost of eggs at the grocery store. The latest data from the USDA shows that 151 flocks have been confirmed to be affected by the bird flu, involving more than 23 million birds.
Currently leading the effort to reduce federal staffing levels is the Department of Government Efficiency. While the moves from DOGE have sparked concern among the public, they’ve also left members of Congress worried, saying the president should take more time to consider layoffs and their effect before signing off on them.
“They need to be more cautious,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), a member of the Agriculture Committee, told NBC News of the DOGE team. “There’s an old saying, ‘Measure twice, cut once.’ Well, they are measuring once and having to cut twice. Some of this stuff they’re going to have to return back. I just wish they’d make a better decision up front.”