CDC staffers describe an increasingly chaotic agency as layoffs begin

At the CDC , a mammoth agency with about 13,000 employees and an annual budget of nearly $9.7 billion , no one seemed to know exactly what was coming.

Senior leaders weren’t sure how to prepare their teams for the immediate future, even as they all knew that at least 1,300 layoffs were imminent.

“The feeling in the building is fear," said one CDC staffer.

The haphazard nature of the layoffs was concerning to those who spoke to Mother Jones .

They all expressed dismay about the disruptions the executive orders had caused to their guidance to the public.

The sudden disruption was especially problematic for the CDC ’s partner organizations.

They said the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy , Jr. to lead the US Department of Health and Human Services .