The U.S. Department of Agriculture said several people working on the bird flu outbreak were accidentally fired.
The job cuts come as President Donald Trump looks to reduce the size of government, working with the Department of Government Efficiency, led by tech mogul Elon Musk. The avian influenza outbreak has led to egg shortages at stores and sent egg prices skyrocketing.
"Although several positions supporting HPAI [bird flu] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters," the USDA 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."
The USDA had previously said in a statement it was optimizing its workforce ahead of job cuts.
"They need to be more cautious," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., a member of the Agriculture Committee, told NBC News. "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."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 68 humans have been infected and the virus has killed more than 150 million birds since 2022, the Washington Post reported.
One egg producer told the Washington Post this month that "we're in the fight of our lives" against the disease.
Sam Barron ✉
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