CDC staffing drops 30% as layoffs, retirements and resignations reshape agency

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is operating with about 30% fewer employees than it had last spring, according to a new union-backed analysis that offers one of the clearest pictures yet of the agency's workforce cuts.The analysis estimates that the CDC had 12,705 civil service employees in March 2025. By May 2026, 3,539 had left the agency and another 271 remained on paid administrative leave without being allowed to perform their regular duties.That amounts to an estimated loss