The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has unveiled a major restructuring initiative that will eliminate 20,000 jobs.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined the plan, which will reduce the department’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000 employees. This reduction includes 10,000 layoffs and an additional 10,000 voluntary departures through early retirement and buyout programs. The agency will also consolidate its 28 divisions into 15 and reduce its regional offices from ten to five.

Kennedy said the layoffs and restructuring will save $1.8 billion a year.

Key changes include:

• Creation of the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA): This new division will merge several agencies, including the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), among others. It will focus on chronic disease prevention and environmental health.
• Transfer of Emergency Preparedness Functions: The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) will move under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which itself will see a workforce reduction of approximately 2,400 positions.
• Reorganization of Senior Care Programs: The Administration for Community Living (ACL), which supports older adults and people with disabilities, will have its functions reassigned to other HHS agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, criticized the recent layoffs and office closures at the Department of Health and Human Services stating that such drastic measures will harm families relying on public health services.

“These offices work closely with communities to make sure child care, hospitals, and nursing homes are safe, strengthen rural health care, and much more,” Wyden said in a statement. “The chaos that is coming will guarantee that kids and seniors fall through the cracks with deadly consequences.”