Some of Mass Firings of FDA Workers Rescinded for Medical Device Reviewers

A week after mass firing of probationary employees from the FDA, some whose jobs were for review of medical devices began to receive notices that their firings were rescinded.

Their terminations relieved pressure on Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which the FDA had been examining. However, lobbyists for the rest of the medical device industry wanted them on the job again so devices can progress toward approval for sale and clinical use.

As with the mass firings, supervisors got no advance notice or explanation. Reinstated staffers got calls or emails saying their access to systems and offices was restored. The emails included a cheery note that the FDA is “grateful” to have them as employees, even though a week earlier they were terminated with a note that declared them “not fit for continued employment.”

About half of the FDA’s budget comes from fees paid by industry, which cannot be collected if work is not being done.

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