The Food and Drug Administration is working to hire approximately 2,200 employees following the loss of more than 3,000 staff members last year, Acting Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissioner Lowell Zeta said on June 24. The agency aims to bring back some recently departed employees as part of this hiring effort.
“We’re at about 600 that are in onboarding clearance at sort of the various levels, with a couple hundred already through the process,” Zeta told attendees of an FDA Town Hall at the BIO International Convention. “This is across the agency, so we feel like we’re making good progress.”
Hiring had slowed for a period but has increased in recent weeks after leadership changes that included the departures of Commissioner Marty Makary and Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Director Vinay Prasad. Acting Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Michael Davis said bimonthly new employee orientations have seen strong attendance over the last three pay periods. “I can’t remember the exact numbers, but [it’s] within the historical norms for bringing on new people, and I see that as a positive sign that hiring is moving forward,” Davis said.
Davis noted improvements since returning to FDA in June 2025 after what BIO President and CEO John Crowley called the “DOGE wrecking ball” affected both FDA and other parts of Health and Human Services. Leadership turnover, political interference in decisions, voluntary departures such as early retirements incentivized by HHS, and low morale contributed to high attrition rates during this period.
Acting CBER Director Karim Mikhail addressed retention efforts at the Town Hall: “Yes, we’re hiring, but if we’re losing at the same pace of hiring for whatever reason because people are dissatisfied with what they do, then it’s not working.” He added that leaders would meet with staff considering leaving: “not to say this is an exit interview, but can you come for coffee to discuss how can we keep you.”
Zeta, Davis, and Mikhail all identified staffing up while minimizing attrition as their top priority. Crowley summarized, “Certainly from what we’ve seen projected publicly...is that intense focus on the workforce...getting the house in order.” According to Davis, attrition rates at CDER have returned to historical levels. He also reported improved employee satisfaction: “I really make an effort to listen to as many staff as I can...and I feel a lot of hope in people of things going forward.”
